Phantom Flames
by Oresama-san
Summary: At first, being reborn with memories of my last life seemed like a blessing. Then I realized that the world of Vampire Knight could kill me in ten seconds if I did not stop being lazy and carefree. Oh well. I've always wanted some adventure and I'm not letting go of this second chance! Especially if a Chibi Night Class is involved! (Romance is secondary to the plot). SI/OC
1. Chapter 1

AN: Yo! This is my first Fanfiction, so please be patient with any mistakes I make. This story will be a long serialization. The build up to the main story is really slow, so please bear with me :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight or any of the characters except for my OC.

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Phantom Flames

Chapter 1

To my perpetually bored and lazy ass self, death came almost like a novelty.

After years of routine on a small island meeting the same people, eating the same meals, doing the same homework, then the same work and getting the same lecture after being late in the mornings for school, then for work, it's safe to say that I did not care much for waking up every morning for a new day. Of course, I had loving parents and occasionally nice, occasionally annoying siblings and normal friends and all. BUT! For a person who was constantly contemplating the possibility for alternate realities due to an overflowing imagination since childhood and all but _craving_ adventure, I was almost happy when I faced the skidding truck that day (I don't remember which day it was).

Yes. Emphasis on the "almost".

And two reasons for that. One was that the good daughter that I was, I was genuinely sad and troubled that I was leaving everyone who was close to me behind to deal with the aftermath of my death. Oh well. That was expected. That was natural. That, I could live with (pun intended).

The real pain in the ass was the minutes which followed my death. When I realised nothing at all was going to move/happen in the darkness that I found myself in. All alone. With nothing to do. Ergo, when I realised that I was going to be static and bored for who knows how long. And that, dear people to whom I am currently delivering this existential ranting, SUCKED HARDCORE!

So after long hours, day, months (I don't know! There was no time in there!) of frustration, crying over my misery and mental pacing, I finally calmed down enough to not care. I entered a sort of Zen state and went over dozens of scenarios and mental stories to pass the time. When I wasn't doing that, I was meditating. Because yes, you can meditate in space that I was in after I died (not going to get into what that is because frankly, I could not care anymore, go Zen Attitude! But for reference's sake, I'll call it the Darkness. Because it was dark.). And because yes, that was in the top ten of the non-existent list of things that I could do at the time. Oh well, at least it passed time. I was also getting the feeling that my existence was "growing" in a sense the longer I meditated, which was a rather peculiar sensation. It was nonetheless a feat, and the most I could do in the Darkness.

After a long, long time, _something_ happened in the Darkness apart from my weird meditation "growth". I started hearing things.

No really, not in the "I'm going crazy due to being stuck in a dark place and I'm hearing things" sense. I started to _really_ hear what sounded like voices. Suffice to say that I was overjoyed and started investigating this new presence with renewed vigor after so many hours of _meditation_. Turns out the voices weren't within my reach. I searched and searched in the Darkness, granted I couldn't actually move, but I reached out as far as possible with my "grown existence" and still I could not reach them. The voices themselves sounded close, but seemed to be muffled by something.

Anyways, I could do nothing other than listen, so I listened. At least with the voices here, I knew I wasn't alone anymore. It might not seem much now, but the barely hearable voices were an immense comfort and relief to the prisoner that I was back then.

Again, time passed without much happening while I continued to delve in stories and in meditation while keeping track of the voices. I never stopped listening to them. As much as I hoped that if I paid enough attention they would come closer, I feared that if I let go for even a second, the voices would disappear and never come back. That was something I could not risk.

The next thing that happened in the Darkness after the voices was something I could not comprehend. It felt similar to an earthquake, but since there was no apparent ground or floor, it was like the Darkness itself was shaking violently.

In a matter of minutes, I felt the Darkness contract and close in on me, making me aware of the fact that I did seem to have a body, albeit an uncontrollable one. I was scared though. Knowing that the place I'd been in for so long was collapsing was one hell of a panic trigger.

Only one thought crossed my mind at the time: I. Want. To. Get. Out.

So I pushed and try to make sense of the now limited space that the Darkness had shrunk into.

….. Until I finally did make it out of the Darkness.

….. And realized that I'd been in a womb the entire time.

…... I will from now on refrain from thinking back to that particular episode of what seemed to be my second life. The birth process, including the Darkness and the post-birth steps, was very… uncomfortable and traumatizing.

Moving on….

It seems that I have indeed been reborn. With my adult thought process intact. My first thought (apart from yuck, urgh and the countless oh-my-god-what-the-fuck-is-going-on inner ramblings) was this: I hope I don't end up in a worse situation that I was in before.

Hahahaha! LOL! Well yeah, I might have jinxed myself on that, but surprisingly in both a good and bad way!

While I did not want to relive a boring life, I was optimistic enough to will my baby mind into thinking that I _was_ going to myself a better shot this time around! That meant that wherever I was, I _was_ going to get onto adventures, I _was_ going to become rich as fuck and there _was_ going to be ROMANCE! I was so happy and relieved to get out the Darkness that I felt like I could conquer whatever was thrown at me! Come, life, let's forget about the last try and dance hand in hand through the prairie of happiness this time!

So after I was capable of maintaining more than a few minutes and hours of "awake" status, I was constantly raising my chubby arms up and smiling at my new parents. They were really cute and always fawned over me, though I had no idea what they were saying half of the time. But I was quick to grasp the Japanese and some words were starting to somehow make sense. After going "Katsumi! Katsumi!" on me for about a thousand times, I understood that it was really my new name.

Anyways, Mommy was lovely with light blond hair and a warm mommy smile while Daddy was very handsome with light brown hair, weirdly purple eyes and a mischievous smirk (lady killer much?). They were both adorable.

That was until they both died. Barely some months after I was (re)born.

Remember my earlier overflowing optimism and fantasies of romance? All of that got shot down to the gutter after that night. Having to come to terms with the existence of bloodthirsty vampires while your parents were getting murdered made dancing through prairies a bit problematic.

They struck while I was in a blissful dream of sushi in the middle of the night. I was awoken by the bang of Daddy bursting through the door and promptly snatching me from the crib. As he ran out through the window towards the forest behind the house, his heart hammering against where my body was pressed against his torso, I saw Mommy. She had stayed behind and was literally slaughtering human-looking creature with crazy expressions and blood-caked mouths. But she was seriously outnumbered and could not simultaneously dodge a swipe at her neck and a clawed hand through her stomach.

My terrified baby vocal chords could only utter broken "Ma"s as I watched her fall from the stomach wound as her blood splattered everywhere.

Daddy never stopped running.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Hello again! So I have to apologize for the short chapters but I promise that they'll get longer as the story goes on! There's just not much to write about in the perspective of a clueless baby, even one with memories of a past life. Other than that, thank you for the follows and the favorites and on with the story!

 **Standard disclaimer applies**.

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Chapter 2

I don't know if baby bodies are supposed to experience adrenaline shots. Since they spent most of their time sleeping or staring around, I was mentally leaning towards a no. Physically, things were proving different.

Even if I was just hanging on my father's arms for most of the run, my body was fizzing with panicked energy. I wanted to run too, to further the distance between me and the monsters, just as part of me also wanted to go back to Mommy. But no, I could not effectively move that way in this body, though the desire still managed make me as stiff and stressed as my baby muscles would allow.

Daddy ran very fast. After some time, we eventually emerged out of the forest. Since I'd shifted my position during the run, all I was seeing was my father's left as his hand clamped on my head to keep it from bobbing too much.

We had arrived at a paved way in a strange, old-castle type of building. Daddy slowed down just a _tad_ bit and due to this, I could catch glimpses of the people who were standing or lounging around. They were dressed in a cool but weird fashion comprising of brown or black leather coats and boots. It reminded of the Western movies I'd seen in my past life. I saw no horses around though.

In a matter of seconds, Daddy had crossed a wooden bridge, two halls and about six stone-walled corridors before banging a door open, running towards a desk and handing me off to some guy's hard hands. Said person only had time to utter a "Wha!" before my father cut him off in a cold, crisp voice.

From what I could understand at the time, he said "Take care of Katsumi. She's my daughter."

Then he ran back through the door again, leaving the guy behind with a traumatized half-weeping baby who was probably developing a fever due to the recent nocturnal run.

 _Why was he leaving too?!_ I thought as the man gently put me down on the desk. _He's returning there and I know, I just know that he's going to die if he does!_ I hadn't even known them much yet, but they were my parents and one of them was dead already and the other was leaving to die as well and without him, without them, I was all alone in this strange place in Japan I'd landed in. And I _did not_ want that!

But I could not move! Despite wanting to throw a serious fit at the time, I could not do as much as tumble across the desk. But my distress was accumulating, and I did the only thing I could. I let go of all of it through something I did not think would follow me past the Darkness. Yes. It seems that "the growth" was not actually a feeling of my body growing inside the womb. It was instead a spiritual growth that had stuck with me through the meditation and that I could somehow manipulate now that I was out of the Darkness. I filled "the growth" with that concentration of emotion and expanded it out. I felt kind of like a sneeze, but with energy instead of snot. It was probably a form of release that I'd developed to counter the claustrophobic sense of being stuck in a static place and then in a baby's restricted body. Really, it was meant to be harmless and just a simple form of meditation.

Apparently, it was not. I discovered that the spiritual energy, mana, reiatsu, chakra, whatever, could actually be materialized into the physical world that night, when I desperately wanted my father to stay with me, but he was too far gone to reach. The result of the stress was thus a sort of spherical outburst which hit the guy who was beside me full on.

Speaking of, the guy, who was a nondescript ordinary desk-work looking man, flinched back and yelled as he scrambled away from me after being hit by the sphere.

"A- a vampire?! But that's impossible!" he said. I could understand the language a bit by now, so I could grasp what the people were saying if they weren't using difficult words. I'd always been good at languages before, so I guess that'd been a plus.

And _._

 _No fucking way in hell! Was there a vampire around? Had they followed us to here?! Speaking of which, what was this place?!_

But the guy was looking at me with wide eyes, so I quickly corrected my initial confusion and mentally replied to him.

 _No bro, I am not a vampire. And if somehow my emotional sneeze has touched you, then it's just that. An emotional sneeze. No need to freak out_. And why was he even thinking that I was a vampire? Had I grown fangs together with my milk teeth?!

But it seems my "growth" was on a roll and the mental reply also manifested in a gentler wave of energy towards the guy. He proceeded to scramble even further, until he was flat against the wall.

At that point I was staring up at him from my seat on the desk and could note that with every passing millisecond, he was paling out. Until he decided that sticking to the wall was doing no good, and he ran out of the door.

Well that was going to give me deja-vus.

So, now that I was calm enough, summary.

My house was attacked by a group of vampires. My mother fought them and died (WHY was she even fighting them to begin with?! Was running not a better idea in the face of bloody VAMPIRES?!). Oh, and rewind to the beginning of my summary, it seems that yes, vampires actually exist. And that people here seem awfully used to that idea since they associate everything with vampires (proof = seconds ago with desk guy and baby me). And I can apparently manifest enough energy through the power of thought that it can touch another person and scare an adult into running away; energy that I was currently radiating due to my active thinking process. Conclusion: I was a radioactive (and probably parent-less) baby in a place that was most definitely NOT the normal world.

Hmpf. Conflicted feelings about this.

Just as I reached that conclusion, desk guy burst back in through the door, this time accompanied by another man. That one was taller, burlier and clearly someone who had more guts than desk guy. Well, enough guts to not run away from a baby wearing a pink overall. Still, even he approached me carefully. He stopped as he reached about 1.5 meters away from me, frowned slightly and muttered, "… We need to get Cross."

Needless to say that I had an immediate panic attack. If the horror movies I'd seen were any reference, a serious guy demanding a cross in a low tone meant mostly only one thing: EXORCISM.

Nope. Not going through that. I was a _baby_. And babies _did not_ get possessed by demons! What the fuck type of dimension did I get re-incarnated in?!

So. If the emotional sneeze had accidentally scared desk guy earlier, this time was on purpose.

I flared out the energy towards them. This seemed to send them into a state of panic secondary to my own. Seemed like a good idea in the beginning. Was not. Though I keep saying it, I keep forgetting that as a baby, I could not do much in terms of self-protection. The guy who was not desk guy slapped his hand against the wall and the room glowed with a blue light, fizzing out my energy. There went my main attack power.

As I tried my best to glare at not-desk guy and failed miserably as I drooled over the desk with my face up in an adorable scrunch, not-desk guy approached me again. He lifted me up in his arms and scrutinized me as if I trying to figure out a bad handwriting.

Then he huffed anti-climatically and addressed desk-guy, "I'll take care of this pint-sized problem, so go make that call. Tell the President that we need Cross to come here immediately. And dispatch some guys to find out what Yuuma has been doing bringing his kid here."

Yuuma = Daddy.

Had almost forgotten about him in the midst of my emotional sneeze problem. At least it seems that they aren't getting a real cross.

Desk guy ran to the corner of the room and grabbed the phone as I proceeded to drool all over Big guy's hand for attack/defense. He twitched slightly, and added, "And tell 'em that it's _urgent_."

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Two days passed.

Two days in which I was starting to seriously question the sanity of the people around me. As well as their babysitting skills.

As I had foreseen, my father did run to his death that night. Got the news as a guy reported the vampire attack on my house to Big Guy (turns out he was in charge of this place, and that his name was Raito-san).

After I was "powered down" in a sense by the blue light and it'd faded into the background, I stayed in that room for the whole duration of those consequent two days. Raito-san never let me out of his reach, so I was either in his arms, on the desk or on the floor beside him. He seemed like a nice chap for all that he would probably never be able to take care of an infant. Even if he waited until I cried my lungs out to have Rokuto (really Desk-guy) change my diapers and feed me (had puree carrots 3 times a day, and milk) and even if he grabbed me by the feet and held me upside down sometimes, at least he did not leave me locked in a cage all alone like I had initially expected him to. Oh, and the fever that I was developing went "fwish" with the blue light. It was probably my baby body reacting badly to the energy/emotional sneeze.

Anyways.

Concerning the news of my parents' death, since I already had my breakdown, I was taking things rather well. Yeah yeah, emotionless of me, I know. But I only knew them for about 5 months and even though I liked them, I wasn't as emotionally attached to them as I was to, say, my last parents. Besides, I wasn't a generally big-hearted super good person. I was very picky about who entered my heart enough for me to care about them.

After the report which confirmed my parents' death, Raito-san eyed me speculatively for a few long minutes. Not being very good at staring contests unless I was being defiant, I acted dumb and stared at the walls and at the other guys in the room. Then he sighed and dismissed the reporter, addressing Rokuto in a very tired tone, "This seriously needs to stop… The Level-Es have been getting restless in this region lately… Just make sure that all of our members and ex-members are alert and that none of them are weaponless, would you? The times are too hard to fancy anyone retiring right now."

…. Oh. So it was a job. They were the police or something. That should have made me feel safe normally but somehow, I was even more anxious after that little piece of info.

Really though, the "Level E" reference should have clued me. It would have been better than the metaphorical punch in the gut that a realization through the meeting two days later meant. After all, even my stupidly carefree self could identify a badass manga character that I used to adore when I saw one.

Kaien Cross walked through the door in all the glory of his legendary aura surrounding him menacingly, fancily highlighted by the over-sized sword that he was carrying on his shoulder. And by the way he was glaring at Raito-san with a passion that could only mean an imminent outburst and a probably subsequent combustion of the target.

So. Seems like he was pissed for some reason.

And seems like I ended up in the post-post-apocalyptic world of Vampire Knight.

And seems like my dreams for peaceful adventures and romance and dancing in prairies were blasted even further away.

I was so screwed.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Before I forget again, I need to issue the warning that Katsumi has a foul mouth sometimes. She has sworn before and she will continue to swear in the future. I cannot control that part of her.

That aside, here's the third chapter! I hope you like it :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight.

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 **Chapter 3**

'Shocked' with a capital 'S' was a very light term to describe my mental state (or rather mental states) when I realized where I was and what was happening.

At first I was in awe at even the possibility of this happening. Crossing dimensions was, well, a fascinating idea in itself and a subject I would have loved to deconstruct theory by theory if I had the required time and patience.

Then, of course, like any fan of the manga/anime, I internally fangirled for about 5 seconds which seemed like 5 minutes in my head. It went a bit like this:

Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! This is the VK world! And there's fucking Cross Kaien in front me! In flesh and blood and he's fucking real! And- oh no! Oh. My. God. If I met Kaien, that means there's a chance that I might meet the others as well. Which means…. KYAAAAAAAA! HANABUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! SENRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! (Takes a few moments to breath.) YAGARIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! And oh god HANABUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

And so on.

What can I say, cute, hot and cool guys did wonders to my blood pressure, especially those who were not (or at least not supposed to be) real.

After the fangirling period, my brain actually did a massive rewind as if telling me to "Waaaaait a second."

Vampire Knight World = Vampire shit everywhere + Selfish (HOT) nobles who had dangerous family problems + Almost as blood-thirsty vampire hunters + massive massacre at the end of the plot involving too many people to count.

 _Ah, that's all. Way to go face-palming me with a complicated world like this when I was dreaming of prairies and romance, life. Well done! At least you didn't disappoint me!_

… _. Guess I'll just have to resolve myself to dying young again._

… _. What a pain…._

Well the _Vampire Knight_ world explained the weird fashion, the architecture and vampire paranoia of the people in this building, which I assumed was a branch of the Hunters Association.

So, all of the above was processed during the time Kaien stomped in the room, whacked Raito's table with his gigantic sword and yelled insults in his face. Meaning in about 3 minutes.

To his credit, Raito did not seem fazed in the least bit. Must be a recurring occurrence then.

It was not to me though.

Where was the Kaien who could give you diabetes by radiating sweetness through his closed-eye smile? I knew that Kaien, before he decided to go all peace on vampires and humans, was a legendary hunter who could not really be considered human anymore. But, I had not been expecting such… casual fury and coldness on his part. And the moment he calmed himself enough to veer away from Raito and turned his glaring sharp eyes onto me, I bolted out of whatever mental trance I'd gotten in. And I tumbled on my back from my sitting position like the stupid and clumsy baby that I was.

Somehow, my fall – and the resultant "oo" sound that escape my mouth - seemed to remind the occupants of the room of my presence (apart from Kaien, since he was already looking at me). For once since Kaien's entry, silence filled the room. As I shuffled to get back into a sitting position, I could feel Kaien's curious gaze on me, as well as Raito-san's much less flattering contemplation of my lack of coordination.

Finally succeeding to right myself, I stared back up at the blond man, taking in the way his hazel eyes glinted with barely suppressed intelligence and power. After a while, he broke the awkward pause by asking in an unbelieving tone "….. Your kid?"

It was Raito's turn to glare. "No, of course not. Yuuma's."

"Oh." Kaien straightened from where he was leaning slightly to look at me and turned his gaze back to Raito. "I heard what happened."

"Yeah well, that's not all." At Kaien's silent questioning of what was not all, Raito added, "We did not call you here to babysit, Cross. The kid-"

"Katsumi, Sir." Rokuto provided.

"- Katsumi here, bombarded us with vampire energy two nights ago."

Kaien's eloquent reply involved a slightly delayed "Huh?"

"Take a look at this." Raito added, standing up and placing his hand on the closest wall. It glowed blue just like the first time, but then dissipated almost instantly. I immediately felt "the growth" manifest again. And that surprised me.

I had thought of "the growth" (which I just remembered they were referring to as vampire energy) as a frustrated release of energy that would disappear once I was calm enough. Never thought it would stick around like a real radiation once I used it. I was a bit overwhelmed by it when I felt it expand again once the blue light switched off, and as much as I tried to bring it back in, the energy only retreated enough to stick close to me. It was just not going back in from where I'd reached for it!

And I panicked. At the same time as Raito lifted me off the ground and dropped me on the desk for Kaien to examine. Before I could do anything more about the energy though, Raito spoke again. "Don't ask. She's clearly not a vampire. She would be down with the protective charms otherwise."

"I see that yes."

Phew! At least that was confirmed! I thought (though I was already certain of it). The simple idea of craving for BLOOD of all things and having to actually consume it, by drinking it no less, was just gross. Vampire was not for me.

Despite the brief relief, I shrank back under the pressure of Kaien's stare. It was serious. Too serious. As if he was expecting me to grow fangs at lash out at him the second his attention lapsed. Then Raito spoke, "The only human we know who's demonstrated such an aura until now, and who's not become insane because of it, is you, Cross."

Kaien said nothing in reply. He just shifted his gaze a little so that he was glaring at both Raito and me. Raito continued, "I suppose you already know what I'm about to say. Just like you, she's bound to attract trouble wherever she goes. Within just ten seconds of her arrival, the entire administrative office of this branch was in shambles. Such a distraction could end up very costly for us someday. We cannot take such risks. Orphanages are also out of the question until she's stabilized…. I await a reaction, Cross."

When Kaien still did not reply/react, Raito sighed. "I heard you've been thinking about quitting the roster lately. Wouldn't this be the perfect excuse?"

Abruptly, Kaien put down his sword and lowered himself to his knees. He stared at me at eye level with such intense eyes, I couldn't resist slowly inching forward to peer deeper and deeper into them until our foreheads met with a distinct "tonk" sound.

Yep, he'd been evaluating me. And I just shoved the seriousness of the situation into my baby mouth as if it were a toy to chew on.

Kaien blinked and retreated, straightening me back on the desk so I wasn't leaning forward so much.

Then he said to Raito, "Fine. But I have one last job to take care of. It shouldn't take too long. I'll take her in when I get back. Keep the kid-"

"Katsumi, Cross-san." (Always helpful you are, Rokuto-kun.)

"-Katsumi safe until then."

Raito reacted in an instant dead tone, "Not possible, Cross. The last time you said you had one last work to do before doing what we told you to, you were gone for 3 months. I _am not_ taking care of the brat for that long."

There was no other words for it. The utterly serious, deadly Kaien that I'd been witnessing for about 10 minutes _whined_. And this drastic change somehow managed to bring me out of the thoughtless trance that I'd gotten in. " _But Raitoooooo-_ "

"No buts. Wherever you're going, just take her with you. There's no doubt that you're strong enough to protect her against whatever."

And Kaien was suddenly serious again. "Whether I'm strong or not is not the problem here though. You know as well as I do that these missions are dangerous. I cannot take such a weak chil-"

"I don't care!" Raito snapped. I flinched. "This kid is not staying in this place for any more time than necessary. I don't care what you do with her. She is, as of now, _your_ responsibility."

….Ah. So that's how it was. Despite his manliness and his authority, Raito was scared of me. The Hunter world was… colder than I had thought. What with spouting people like Kaien and my parents, I had assumed they would be less… heartless. Though it was a word that I did not like using. The hunters surely had their own reasons. Still... he was _actually_ scared of me. _Nothing new then_ , I thought, a bit sadly. _I'm glad it was only two days._

Though I wasn't looking at him, I could feel Kaien's disapproving look directed towards Raito. But no guilt passed through the man's face. Instead, an air of persistence hung to his eyes, urging Kaien to understand. What the latter was supposed to understand though, at the time, I did not know. I could only sit, stare and resign myself to whatever the grown-up adults around me were going to decide.

And Kaien probably finally understood whatever Raito wanted him to, because he picked up his sword and said, "Very well, Raito. I'll leave it to you to call the headquarters and to inform them that I'll no longer be available as a Hunter. That much is fine right?"

"Yes. We'll let them know."

Kaien picked me with one hand and held me against his shoulder, the one which wasn't holding his giant sword. Then he turned and walked out the door.

No other goodbyes were exchanged.

* * *

A/N 2: Okay. So I need to clarify some things.

The vampire aging system in the VK world is really blurry to me. While it's known that vampires age very slowly, the night class aged like humans during the time Yuki was human. Takuma and Kaname were both young kids when they visited Yuki at Kaien's place. So I will have to tweak the system a bit for my story's sake. So in _Phantom Flames_ , vampires will start aging slowly at some point in their lives, point that they get to choose. If not, then the process starts naturally by the time they're twenty.  
I also don't know how the vampire pregnancy works, so we'll assume that the women stay pregnant for longer than ordinary humans, because their body changes in a slower rate than actual passing time. This means that Kaien has already visited Juri and taken a beating and has already had a change of heart, which means he's already decided a bit on his plans for the future. BUT Juri won't give birth to Yuki until one year later. (Katsumi will be one year older than Yuki.)

Kaien has not yet become the bubbly guy we know because he has not completely gotten his super resolve to make vampires and human live together in peace yet. It'll come soon though. So don't worry too much about him being OoC.

That's all for now! Thank you for reading! Do review if you have time


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hi again everyone! Thank you so much for all the follows, favorites and reviews! This motivates me so much to write more and more that I can't even-**

 ***In other words, you're to me like prairies are to Katsumi, though she can't have them coz I'm evil. Lol.***

 **I hope you like the previous chapter and without further ado, here's the next one.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight.**

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Chapter 4

Just like two nights ago, the air outside was cold. It bit into my sensitive baby skin every time a movement caused the wind to stir and slap me in the face.

We were currently walking down a path in the woods. Where to, I didn't know. Why the woods, no idea. But we'd (he'd) been walking for approximately two hours now.

Kaien left the Hunter's branch immediately after Raito's dismissal. He did not stop to talk to anyone, did not even pause at the exit to glance back at the building, he did nothing. He just walked down the main cobblestone path leading away from the branch before veering sharply away from the road track. It was not in the direction of my (ex)house. It was slightly less than opposite the direction Daddy had run in from. But Kaien did not run. He walked. But he walked fast.

I was becoming sleepy very quickly. It was late, it was dark, I was emotionally and mentally tired and I was cold.

 _If I don't die from vampire bites,_ I thought _, the cold is sure to get me._

But apparently even that thought was not a valid one. My manna (vampire energy is too long, and manna sounds very cool) was slowly uncurling from my body as I fell deeper and deeper into a state of slumber. It was enveloping me in a small cocoon of safety, more lukewarm than warm, but enough that I would probably not die from the cold.

Just as I was about to fall asleep, Kaien stopped, put down his sword, and fumbled a bit around his coat. I couldn't see what he got out of his pockets, but I assumed it was a key because just after I heard a lock click open, followed by the creaking of a door and the rush of lukewarm and musty air.

We entered a dark cottage-like building and Kaien put me down on what I assumed was a couch before moving to light a fireplace. Then he went to get his sword and closed the door.

The minutes which followed were very awkward. My existence was, for lack of better terms, royally ignored by the legendary hunter as he went about his own business. I watched as he took off his coat, his shoes, his socks, as he tied his hair with an elastic band, as he put some water to boil to make some tea and as he finally sat down in the couch beside me. He stared at the fire while stirring the tea. Needless to say, the silence was frustrating.

Not wanting to anger my sole new companion, I sat silently all the while, though inside, I was slowly burning with impatience.

 _*Groooooowl*_

…. And hunger.

Kaien glanced briefly in my direction. Then he placed his cup of tea on the low table and turned his body to look at me.

"… I don't suppose you drink tea, do you?"

If only my body was twenty years older, this situation would be the perfect home date. Kaien's hair was disheveled and his shirt was hanging loose just in the way to turn him into a sexy ikeman.

 _But in this case no, he was practically my father and no, Kaien, I am not supposed to drink tea at this age. Please show some maturity in the subject of child rearing considering your age._

I shook my head lightly.

Vague surprise in his eyes, he exclaimed in a low tone, "Oh, so you can understand me? Isn't that weird for a child this small?"

Turning my head 60% to the left was the best way I found to say "Is it really?"

He shrugged, "Well, whatever. Just makes things easier for me. I'll make some milk."

Going into the corner of the room, he made the milk. It was standard power milk that I was sure was not meant for babies, but beggars couldn't be choosers. At this point, I would even try my best to eat solid food if I had to. Well this was until he put a glass of milk in front of me and gestured for me to drink it.

 _Hahahaha, no, Cross, you aren't actually telling me to drink from a normal glass, are you? How the fuck do you want me to do this? I. AM. A. BABY! I cannot even grab the stupid glass in my chubby under-sized hands, much less lift it to my lips and drink it without spilling 80% of it down my pink overall. My ONLY pink overall, since my clothes hadn't been changed since that night._

But Kaien did not seem to get the hint when I looked up at him quizzically. Instead, he just stared at me, as if waiting to see how I'd drink it.

So I had no choice but to slowly inch towards the glass. I knew I wasn't going to be able to lift that full glass, so I didn't even attempt that move. Instead, I eyed the glass, thinking hard about how I was gonna drink from it. First, I tried what seemed like the most sensible thing to do. I lowered my face to the glass's level and tried to tilt it towards my mouth. But that failed, since tilting did not mean levitating and my mouth was too small to take one gulp of milk yet. So after tilting the glass back in place on the table, I wiped the dripping milk off of my chin with my hand. Then I tried the next best baby trick I knew. I dunked my entire hand in the glass, took it back out and shoved it my mouth. I guessed this was good enough for a taste.

If Kaien wasn't being stupid, I'd say he was being a bully and was actually enjoying my struggle. But he seemed so serious there, eyeing my struggle with a hand stroking his chin. He picked up the glass and said, "So I guess the glass is too big huh?"

STUPID KAIEN. STUPID, STUPID KAIEN.

Now I knew why it was so hard for Yuki and Zero to see him as a father.

He dumped the glass in the sink, then took me there to wipe milk clean from my face and chin.

After that, Kaien was thoughtful again while I was seriously beginning to think about communicating with him in some way to make him make me food I could eat. He could think I was weird for a kid, I wouldn't care.

Then he stood up and said to no one in particular, "It seems that it will be very difficult for me to take care of a child alone."

 _No kidding bro!_

Putting on his coat, he faced me and smiled for the first time that night, "We'll go find some help."

And then off we were again, in the cold dark forest, for another long, long walk.

* * *

Guess who help was. No I won't say, just guess who.

A fellow hunter? _No!_

An old friend? _Of course not!_

A professional babysitter/child-care worker? _Are you out of your mind?!_

This was _Kaien_! And this was the _Vampire Knight_ world! And _nobody_ in the Vampire Knight world ever choose the most rational option! So suffice to say that Kaien wouldn't even _consider_ such an option.

When Kaien Cross is put in charge of a child he cannot take care of, he does not go find help with ordinary people who have a decent knowhow in matters of baby food and diaper changing. NO! Kaien Cross goes to a _vampire_ , to a fucking _**KURAN**_ to ask for baby advice.

The fucked-up-ness of this situation was so extreme that I had to use the capitals AND the italics AND the bold font to emphasize the name " ** _KURAN_** ". I mean, **_KURAN_**! See, I even had to repeat it!

But even Kaien's messed-up decision taking abilities could not beat the reaction of the _**KURAN**_ s when we got there, especially that of one ** _JURI KURAN_**.

So, description time.

The entrance gate was huge, the courtyard was huge, the mansion was even huger and everything was styled in Gothic/Victorian tones.

*End of description time.*

…What? The décor wasn't really my point of focus at the time. Mostly because I was freaking out.

Because, the Kurans were such a messed up family! Incest, creepy powers, creepy brothers, creepy ancestors… Urgh. It was bad news for me, especially since I still hadn't eaten and the hunger was starting to make me very sick. Even if the manna could stall the cold, it probably couldn't feed me.

My head was pulsing with a mixture of hunger and panic and even though I'd been pretty accepting of death lately, I did not want to go near purebloods. I could accept natural death, but jumping head first into the den of the most dangerous predators out there was a huge nope.

So I clung to Kaien with whatever energy I had left as soon as we passed the gate and I heard him say a greeting in the name of Juri Kuran. Since I was still being held on Kaien's shoulder, I could only see behind him, and I was neither willing to nor capable of making any effort to turn around to see the faces of the people who were no doubt Yuki and Kaname's parents.

Once we were inside, and the massive double doors were closed, I slumped against Kaien's shoulder, having no longer any energy left to cling anymore.

"We were not expecting you at this hour, Kaien. Is something the matter?" I heard a gentle male voice question.

"I apologize for this late intrusion upon your property, Haruka-San. It is in fact a rather urgent matter, yes."

 _Oh, Haruka…. The hottie…_

"Oh my, who is this child on your shoulder, Kaien-kun?" This time it was a soft, slowly fading female voice. She seemed excited though. _Why was everyone speaking so slowly?_

"Ah, she's Katsumi. She's …"

 _Huh? Why can't I hear?_

"Katsumi? Katsu-"

And yep, seems that I was finally at my limit. Ah shit, I thought faintly, I hope it's not the Darkness again.

* * *

Thankfully, it was not the Darkness.

I woke up sometime later to voices speaking beside me. I could almost swear it was Mommy and Daddy quarrelling about petty things such as who would make milk for me to drink again. But it'd been 48 hours since they were dead, and three times I'd woken up to realize that the silence was not going to be filled by their cute bantering anymore. This was my fourth time waking up since that night.

But there was no silence. Instead, as soon as I stirred and blinked my eyes open, there was a high-pitched, though still soft, "Sooooo cuuuuuute! Purple eeeeeeyyyyes!"

Then there was a huge face in, well in my face, and I was so shocked I tumbled back down on the bed.

Apparently, Juri Kuran was a child-lover.

"Juri, I think you should stop scaring the child. Katsumi was it, Kaien?"

"Yup!" the guy replied from a bit further away.

After Juri Kuran's pretty face was out of the way, cooing from a distance, I got a first good look at the God of Hotness that was Haruka Kuran. Juri was pretty even with her forming baby-bump, though Yuki after she (re)transformed was prettier. But Kaname would never be able to beat this guy in looks, in my opinion at least.

Being faced with such handsomeness, I, naturally, froze with my mouth agape.

"But everyone in our family has brown eyes and brown hair. You can't tell me to not fawn over such pretty purple eyes!" Juri pouted.

Nice to know that I had purple eyes. I had yet to face a mirror in this world and my parents had stopped commenting on such things by the time I could understand the language.

While Juri continued to argue lightly with Haruka, I glanced around. We were in a luxurious looking room plastered in luxurious looking beige wallpaper, gigantic, of course. I was sprawled on (now sitting up on) a giant cushion, the type you would never see ordinary stores because they were meant for five star hotel suites. It was pink. Haruka and Juri were standing in front of me in their luxury pajamas and Kaien was sitting further away on a couch, happily sipping tea from English tableware. After leaving me to (almost) die of hunger and cold. The jerk.

After I glared at him some more, a resounding 'click' dragged my attention to the door on the wall opposite Kaien. Juri promptly forgot her argument with Haruka and turned to the door, "How did it go, Kaname-kun?"

"The doctor has left safely, Mother. He said not forget to feed her properly when she wakes up."

…. _Fuck._

I almost, almost lied back down to pretend I was dead. That was the effect Kaname entering my field of vision had on me. And what was my first thought, you ask (apart from the play-dead reflex)? Well it was this:

 _… It's a chibi Kaname._

Why was I not freaking out more than this?! How come I was even still alive after meeting three Kurans? I should be in a recoil state right now, thinking about escaping more than anything else. But no, here I was trying to figure out how I could get one of the adults around to snap a picture of the cutie for me.

 _But seriously, Kaname taking notice of me is a dangerous thing. I will just have to keep a low profile, and hopefully, since Yuki is not even born and in danger yet, he won't try to make a pawn out of me._

Yes yes, things were looking good for me…. Except for this STUPID EXCESS OF VAMPIRE ENERGY THAT I WAS STRUGGLING TO CONTROL!

"Here Katsumi-chan. Say _aah~_ "

Aand Juri almost shoved a small spoon of warm porridge in my mouth, without waiting for me to even register her "say aah~" request. Seriously, the adults I was meeting in this world apart from my parents were gradually destroying my faith in responsibility; because my faith in humanity was a lost cause at this point.

As soon as I had gulped down the first mouthful of porridge, Juri wasted no time in shoveling another spoon in my mouth. All the while, a fond smile was distorting her – what I assumed – usually dignified face into a slightly goofy one.

 _I know I am very hungry, almost enough to be unconscious and all, but for Heaven's sake woman, give me time to breath!_

After the third spoon, I could not take it anymore. Angry, I summoned all the muscle strength and coordinative prowess I could, and snatched the spoon from her hand.

Juri only had time to say a small, shocked "Oh my-" before I plunged the spoon in the porridge bowl (which she was holding in her hand) and directed it to my mouth. Thankfully the spoon was the mini-ladle type, so my spilling was reduced considerably. After I swallowed, breathed, and went for the second self-served spoon, Juri came out of her mini-shock and turned towards the guys (Haruka, Kaname and Kaien), who had been sitting and discussing on the sofa set further away.

"Kaien-kun, you didn't tell me she was a little genius." Juri said, interrupting whatever they'd been talking so seriously about. They all glanced this way, and sensitive to attention as I was, I immediately froze, berating myself for my behavior.

 _Stupid, stupid Katsumi! Normal five months old don't feed themselves! Are you trying to make them think of you as even more abnormal than they already did?!_

"Is that so?" Kaien asked, making his way towards me. "Hmmm, come to think of it, she also understood me when I talked to her earlier."

"What, really?!" Juri peered even closer at me. Then her face brightened and she went "That is soooo cuuute!" again.

Haruka and Kaname had also come closer to see what the little commotion was about. "Either she's a genius, or it comes with her condition." Haruka commented, catching my attention and silencing Juri for a bit. "The only child I know of who acted like this is Kaname."

 _….wha? What the fuck is wrong with these people?! Okay, I was willing to accept that I had developed a higher average of vampire energy than normal due to meditating in the Darkness and that I was weird for a kid because I remembered my past life. BUT. There was no FUCKING WAY that I was like Kaname. Kaname was a millennia-old ancestor. I was ME! So stop spouting nonsense, would you?!_

…..

…unless it wasn't that I was like Kaname.

But that Kaname was like me…

After all, we both remembered past lives. And were both adults in child bodies.

 _Oh, phew. Way to go dramatizing the situation, me. Hahaha, haha… ha. Not funny._

\- Back to the world outside my head. –

Kaname was staring at me.

 _Retreat! Retreat!_

In the background, the adults were quietly discussing about the dangers which were associated to my 'condition' and what would happen etc. I think I also heard Juri at some point finally starting to berate Kaien about his child-care skills. At last, one thing was getting done.

But all of their conversations were blurred in favor of focusing on the matter at hand – or rather, at face.

Kaname could probably break some records in staring matches. But I couldn't lose. I got the feeling that if I so much as blinked, he was going to kill me on the spot and say "Oops, my hand slipped."

Instead though, he said something that I found very, very nasty. "You are very cute."

While I was incredibly flattered to receive such a compliment from one of the hottest guys alive in this world, the extent to which this creeped me out was a lot more incredible. And I don't think I even needed to spell out _why_. But rather than a need, I _couldn't_ dwell on why this creeped me out.

Why? Because I promptly lost consciousness for the second time that night.

And I was still so hungry.

* * *

I did not wake up again until several hours later. Too weak to even whine anymore, I let Juri bath, change and feed me. I did not see Kaien around, though I think I glimpsed a bit of Haruka and Kaname fumbling about some boxes while Juri was rounding a corner.

Strange observation: I had yet to see a maid or servant or housekeeper around. This mansion was huge and I wondered how they maintained it without handy people. I crossed out the idea that they did it themselves, because chores and Kuran did not mix. Nope. Apart from that, I could only speculate three things:

1) They hired a weekly housekeeper to clean the place, and today was not the day. (Though that would leave the matter of who prepared the porridge yesterday night a mystery.)

2) They knew some useful spells which made the house clean itself, 'Bibidee-Babidee-Boo' style. (If this was it, I was so doing further research the instant I could speak/read.)

3) The mansion hosted house-keeping ghosts. (Wouldn't put it past a millennia-old Royal family of vampires.)

Needless to say, I was leaning more towards option two.

Useless speculations and basic needs aside, I soon became bored in the Kuran household. Even Raito's office had been more interesting. There, I'd pass the time getting on the old guy's nerves and bullying Rokuto. Occasionally, some random cute guys would get in and I'd crawl to them so they'd pick me up (though they usually didn't). Here, I was stuck in a pretty but bare room with an annoying cooing lady who kept making me try new outfits. I was always on the cushion, never allowed on the floor, so I was getting a bit (a lot) uneasy. Hours passed and I was getting tired of waiting for Kaien to get in the room.

 _Where did he even go that it was taking him this long?_ I thought, pulling the very pink hair accessory out of my hair. _What did they talk about when I fell asleep?_ I hated not knowing what was happening but Juri wasn't going to tell a baby about the serious talk in between deciding which between blue and pink looked cuter on me.

The realization suddenly dawned on me when Juri plopped me down in front of a mirror after dressing me up in a lavender princess dress, complete with a mini crown. It didn't suit me at all. I mean, sure, it looked cute on my baby body. I also noticed that I had pale blond hair this time, the same as Mommy had had. But the dress didn't suit me at all. There was nothing princess like about me. Even in my last life, when I'd been a kid playing fairytale with my little sister, I knew, almost instinctively, that I would never fit the role of the princess. I found it strange at the time. All the girls my age (6 at the time) wanted to be princesses and they liked it when adults called them that. But I found the idea of princess + me… alien. So I always took the role of either the prince or the evil queen. I was always more at ease that way. I even found it cooler when I grew up.

In front of the mirror in this world, at the same time I realized how different I looked from my past self, I also realized that my looks changed nothing. I was no princess, and this meant that nothing was going to stop Kaien back from abandoning me to whatever.

I could not help it, I burst out crying.

Juri was at my side in an instant, picking me up and making soothing motions on my back. "Wa, wa, why are you crying? It's ok, it's ok."

No it was not okay. I was tired of being constantly left behind. First by Mommy, then Daddy, then Raito and now Kaien. And even before all this. Why was it always like this?! A new life wasn't supposed to be a repeat of the last! I wasn't supposed to be alone this time!

As I wailed, Juri carried me to the room where Haruka and Kaname were working. "Haruka-kun. She already had food and a nap, so I don't know what's wrong. She's not stopping whatever I do."

I was passed to Haruka, but even the way he lifted me up to simulate an airplane did nothing to soothe me. It didn't matter how hot Haruka was, how nice Juri was, I did not want to stay with them. I'd been with him for what, less than a day, but I had something with Kaien already. I couldn't explain the feeling. But his abandoning me left me heartbroken. So much so that it was starting to make me feel physically sick.

"Father, let me try."

I was passed to Kaname's small hands. If possible, I think I started to cry even louder.

I understood that I was not Yuki. I understood that he was not asked nicely to take care of me, that he was almost forced to take me, that I was a burden. But I would grow up! I wouldn't be a burden for long! I swear, I'll make things work for you, so please-

"Oh, it's just the kid." Kaien huffed, taking his gloves off. "And here I was wondering what type of danger would cause someone to scream like that."

" _U-UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~!_ "

I was passed on to Kaien. I think he must have sensed my distress, because he did not make any other comment. He only softly shushed me down while I clung desperately to his neck. As I gradually calmed down, I realized that this outburst was probably long overdue. It was a wonder I'd stayed that calm through all the events that happened in the last few days, especially considering my baby-condition.

After a while, Kaien addressed the Kurans, who'd been standing around awkwardly waiting for me to stop crying. For a family of powerful vampires, it was sure easy to overwhelm them. "I've found what I was looking for. The property was just within the budget and the cleaning crew has already started working."

"That sure was quick!" Juri exclaimed, then added in a slightly sad tone, "Though I don't know how your project will turn out in the end, I do hope that you will put your best in it where we cannot, Kaien-kun."

I could almost feel Kaien hiding his blush. In front of the husband, I don't think he could afford to let anything show though. Lol. "Yes, yes I will. …Thank you for taking care of Katsumi, but I think I'll take it from now on."

I watched through my still slightly teary eyes as Juri stepped forward slightly, "… Are you sure?"

"Yes. I might stumble a bit with the diapers at first, but I'll manage eventually. Besides… she and I are the same."

After a few seconds of eye-to-eye staring/thought analysis, Juri sighed and said, "As you wish. You can still come to us anytime for advice, though I get the feeling that she will be fine with anything as long as it's you." Then with a slightly crooked smile, she added, "That was the first time I saw Kaname-kun get so readily rejected."

Beside her, little Kaname surprisingly fumed for a bit.

I blinked. So Juri wasn't a total nuthead after all. But still, for royalty to be so inviting towards him… Kaien's popularity just continued to astound me.

After Juri changed me in warmer clothes fit for travel and Kaien had clicked shut a luggage case as big as his sword, we were off again into the cold. The three Kurans saw us off from their doorstep.

Because I was facing behind Kaien again, I saw it when the adults retreated and the ancestor-in-the-little-boy stayed for a bit longer. His eyes gleamed in the distance even when his face became less and less visible. Then he also disappeared within the depths of the structure.

I didn't know how he did, but he also knew it. This was no goodbye. We'd definitely see each other again, and that would probably happen sooner than I ever wanted it to.

* * *

 **AN: Okay, reaction time. Tell me how you feel about this turn of events. Disappointed that Katsumi did not end up staying at the Kuran household? Relieved? I know it would have been a very juicy development with even more juicy growing up scenes but! I have things planned out for Katsumi, so I hope you don't get too angry with me *w***

 **Apart from that, things will start to get heated up from now on. The next chapter will be a time skip so… we're slowly getting closer and closer to beginning of Cannon. Thank you and until next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Salutations to everyone who is reading this fanfiction! Firstly, I wish to thank everyone who reviewed, followed and favorite this story! You have my love!**

 **Then comes the time to apologize for the late and still rather short chapter. It was hard to write because there were so many things I had to think of, and it still came out a bit… rough. I hope the omake I included at the end will make up for it. I promise to upload the next chapter soon!**

 **On that note, please enjoy and review :D**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

"Again!"

Two minutes later, I was slammed back into the cushion-lined wall, hard enough to knock my breath out of my lungs, but not enough to stop yet. So I sat up and yelled again before launching me back into the attack.

"Again!"

Oh, don't misunderstand, I didn't turn into a masochist over the six years following my (re)birth… no, I didn't… this was only training! God! The dynamics of having an adult in a child's body became simply unhealthy at times.

Anyways, I was currently six. And being beaten to the ground by Kaien as if I were a ripped body builder training for an upcoming boxing event. But that is fine, I asked for it. And I've found out over the years that Kaien, despite having become… bubblier than he was at first, was never going to treat me like a fragile little girl or like a precious princess. Simply because I was not. I knew that I was not because I was me and I was a total of 27 now. He knew that I was not because I was a human with an overdose of vampire energy, a condition similar to his own. _Which in other words meant_ :

1) Harder

2) Better

3) Faster

4) Stronger.

Hahaha! Yeah… no.

But actually yeah, even I realized it over time. My body was more resistant than that of an average child (no kidding), my reflexes were faster and at six I had the physical strength of an average guy. The more I grew up, the more these 'powers' were going to amplify until I reached a maximum and stopped aging. And _this_ meant several things on its own.

First, I wasn't going to die anytime soon. Kaien had been alive for what, around two hundred years now. If I was going to live that much as a superhuman, well I was going to have to find some hardcore hobbies. Leading a boring life when you didn't know how many centuries you'll have to wait until you started growing older again and died was a huge NOPE in my list.

Two, since superpowers were awesome, especially when it didn't come with gross side-effects such as "you have to drink blood" or "you have to kill babies", I was so going to learn how to use them. Because it would make me cooler. And for heaven's sake! I was not going to simple _ignore_ superpowers when I could use them! Who would?!

Moving onto the serious and deadly stuff, thirdly, being a non-aging human with a super body meant that I was not going to be able to lead a 'normal' life with 'normal' people. I didn't want to end up with parades of people wanting to burn me on stakes because they thought I was a witch. I knew that humans had particularly violent reactions to what they perceived as 'other'. Even if I could probably defend myself, I didn't want to a life where I spent all my nights sleeping with one eye open for fear of being attacked. So I wasn't even going to tread that path. Which brings me to the fourth point. I was going to have to get involved with vampires. Not that I wasn't already, what with my parents' killers and Kaien's visit to the Kurans. But I was going to have to make vampire friends. I wasn't strictly against the idea. Since they also had the long-life syndrome, they'd last longer than human friends and I wouldn't have to be sad because they died. However, as far as I knew, most vampires didn't mingle with humans. And even if he was the last living being on earth, I would never be so desperate as to actively seek Kaname's daily company. …. I think. Anyways, I'll have to find some friendly vampires since I didn't like to be alone. But there was still time for that, I could try my luck with the Night Class when the time comes.

And finally, me being the same as Kaien meant that he could actually beat me up without bruising me up too much. And since I suspected that he had a hidden sadistic streak, of course he would accept with a smile when I told him that I wanted to train to be able to fight. Even if I was three at the time.

But weird parenting aside, Kaien was the best. He was fun, he was cute, he was efficient and he was a damn good teacher. In martial arts, at least. Speaking of which…

"You should take a break, Katsumi-Chan. It's already been three hours."

"But Kai-chaaan! I still haven't been able to throw you against the wall!" I whined, stomping on the training floor. Oh yes, he also never really told me to call him 'Dad' or 'Father', never pestered me about it like he did with Yuki and Zero. It was strange, but I didn't pay much attention to that point. Besides, calling him 'Kai-chan' seemed like a privilege, and it was cute, so I wasn't going to complain.

"No buts Katsumi-chan. You just mastered the stealth escape, so you know how long it takes to succeed. You won't be able to grasp the heavy grapple in one day, much less in the five more minutes that you keep asking to me to give you. So go take a bath and change so we can have dinner. I'm tired too."

I sighed, relenting. It was true. Kaien wasn't going easy on me. He was training me seriously. I knew that because over the past year, as I widened my vocabulary range and developed most of my language skills, I also progressed as a sneaky spy who could also dance around most enemy hits and escape if need be. Apparently, lithe was the first thing Kaien wanted to teach me when I mentioned "fighting". So even though I wasn't happy at first, I soon saw the unbelievable possibilities of use for that skill (it wasn't too hard to see after reviving my inner passion for _Naruto_ ). And it had been genuinely fun to play at the various varieties of 'Don't Let Me Catch You' and trying to think of new tactics to win over Kaien at hide and seek games in the mansion.

Because yes, we lived in a mansion. I suddenly feel very stupid, because _of course_ I should've started with a detailing of what happened after we left the Kuran household. But there I went rambling about training and fighting…

So.

**Six years ago**

Kaien actually had the splendid idea to buy a car this time around, so we did not have to walk back through the cold forest.

I never really got to appreciate the real hugeness of Kaien's estate before. Size-wise I think it was a little more than a small town. Except, instead of houses, there were, well, castles. Two of them and I could see a construction site in the corner, so I think there would be a third one soon. I had never really lived in luxury before. My family had always been struggling to pay bills every month, so my mind had always been geared towards saving money…. I never wanted to know how much Kaien spent on this land…. I think I'd get a genuine heart attack. In fact, I'm not even going to dwell more on the matter because I'd start hyperventilating.

We settled down in one of the castles.

At the beginning, when he was trying hard to take care of me as well as all the work he had, Kaien reminded me a bit of Raito. He'd bring me with him everywhere he went, whether it be on the construction sites or on important meetings with various businessmen. He'd ignore the weird stares of the people he met and he'd maneuver me around with ease so I never got uncomfortable. Despite being surrounded by bulky men constantly moving rocks and metal, I never so much as got a scratch (must be why I was paying double in the present). I don't know, maybe it was because I'd always been had parent-feels in my last life (I could watch through a couples breaking-up film with a cold heart, but films about hard-working parents got me crying my feels out every time); I doted on Kaien more than I did on my brother in my last life. Even as a crawling baby, I'd do the most I could to help the guy. Be it fetching fallen nails, tapping him and pointing to show him when the workers were doing something that even I knew was wrong, or hanging onto his leg so he took a break when he overworked. It didn't even matter anymore that I was not baby-like or that touching nails were dangerous for an infant. Kaien didn't mind and he still bathed, fed and took care of me every day. So damn if I was gonna act like a good for nothing and watch him get more and more exhausted as the days went by.

Besides, as long as I could move, never again was I going to be a burden to Kaien. That was what I had decided on that night I thought he'd abandoned me to the Kurans. That was why as soon as I could walk and speak, I was training. It was for various things, really. So that I could help him when things got bad in the future, so I didn't have to be protected, so that I didn't become a liability, so nobody could ever use me to bring harm to him. I wasn't stupid. Kaien had a lot of enemies. None would let the opportunity of deadly blackmail pass the instant Kaien looked the other way. And he would. I had siblings before, so I knew that the minute Yuki got into this house, his attention would be split. Being a harmless little girl would do both of us no good at all.

So I did all I could to become anything but harmless.

**Back to 6 years old Katsumi**

I took my time in the bath. I don't know what type of bath salts Kaien gave me a while back, but mixed in the hot water, they did wonders to my sore muscles. Kaien would also need the time to get changed and see what we could have for dinner, so I could laze around for a bit.

I closed my eyes. It was a strange thing, living in this world. I didn't feel it at first because I was too preoccupied with the more 'in your face' aspect of the idea. With my head screaming "Oh my God, I'm in the Vampire Knight world", there wasn't much I could seriously dwell on. It was only when I settled into a sort of routine and found time for myself that I noticed it. This weird sensation that despite the fact that it wasn't supposed to exist, this place was where I was supposed to be. That it was home. It could have been because I was gradually letting go of my past life, but I instinctively knew that that wasn't it. Like those strange times when you taste what you think is a new food, but you know and love the taste from somewhere you can't remember anymore. Or like when you see someone you've never met before, but you still get the feeling that you've always known them. Not exactly like deja-vu, more like phantom pains. They've been there all the time, just somewhere you can't see or hear. In my case, though it might make more sense, the memories I retained from my past life about this world weren't what drove this gut feeling. It was a connection I felt to the world itself. I could taste it in the air. There, lying in the bath with my eyes closed and my mind relaxed, I could sense it calling out to me. Those phantom memories…

"Katsumi-chaaaan! The spaghettis are almost done, so hurry up!" I heard Kaien calling out from the kitchen.

I sighed… yeah, I wasn't getting more meditation done tonight. I got out of the water and dried myself with a towel. Putting my clothes on, I called back out to Kaien, "Don't forget to put cheese on miiiiine."

"Already diiiiid!" he replied in a sing-song voice.

 _Heh_ , I thought, wiping my hair. _So different from when he's in teaching mode_. Aside from lithe maneuver, escape tactics and hand to hand combat, Kaien also taught me how to work with my vampire energy. Frankly, when he told me we were going to work on that (I was four), I got super excited. I thought I was going to get a cool super power like, like Hanabusa's, or like Akatsuki's. _This is so awesome!_ I'd thought _. This thing must be practically like chakra then! Am I going to use Ninjutsu?! Am I going to walk on trees and on water?! Am I gonna have the fuckin' Sharingan?!_

I don't know if the person directing this world found some sort of pleasure in shooting me down every time I got excited, but no, vampire energy was _not_ like chakra. Learning how to control it, as Kaien meant it, was only just that: controlling it. I didn't get to do anything with it. Just learned how to keep it shut deep down inside me. And the best way to learn that was, you guessed it, the very interesting meditation! I was supervised all the time too, so I couldn't even skip when I had enough. After that training, I had control over the mana (as I mentioned before, vampire energy is too long) as one would over a yoyo. Or a piece of cloth. I could only expand or retract it. Another useful but not flashy advantage controlling the mana gave me was the monster metabolism. And since expanding the energy could sometimes be used to scare people (ex: Rokuto alias Desk-guy), I was happy enough.

But apart from teaching me the above skills and helping me refine them over the years, Kaien refused to go further. He, understandably, told me when we had just begun that he would not teach me how to use a weapon. Not only because it was dangerous, but also because I didn't have the physique for it yet. Oh well, even I wouldn't want to risk accidentally beheading myself just because I didn't have the right leverage for a weapon.

Putting aside those morbid possibilities, I tossed the dirty towels into the clothes basket and rushed to the kitchen.

The table was already set and Kaien was already seated. He huffed a bit as I sat down, chirping out complains about cooling pasta and melting cheese.

"It's going to cool down even more if you continue talking, so let's eat already Kai-chan!" I said, grabbing my fork and twisting it around the spaghetti. I did my best to roll in as much cheese and sauce as I could in one bite and stuffed it all in my mouth. It was heavenly. Kaien mumbled a bit more about ungrateful kids before grabbing his own fork and picking up his spaghetti. But just as he was going to eat it, the doorbell rang. Since I was watching him the whole time, I got to see the moment his face fell in disbelief at the incredible timing of the person who found only this moment to visit.

I grinned at him after gulping down my mouthful of food, "Too bad for you Kai-chan. Don't worry about your spaghettis, I'll eat them."

He glared at me before getting up and heading out of the kitchen. As an afterthought, I called out to him for a good final blow, "They taste great by the way!"

His almost teary 'hmpf' could be heard resonating through the walls.

Smirking, I thought about how his sadistic streak must have rubbed off on me somehow. I snatched some of his mushrooms and chewed happily. _Not that I mind it though, I won't be the one suffering from it after all._

But I wondered who it was this time. A lot of people came at our house to look for Kaien when the office hours ended. It generally didn't take long, just a few minutes to ask a question or clarify a schedule or something. The ones who took forever were the people from the education committee. They were boring and always had things to present or to complain about. So I hoped it wasn't them. On the other hand it'd be great if it was the nice lady from the catering board who just visited to check if we weren't lacking any food and who brought over nice cakes. But she didn't come too often, so I wasn't getting my hopes up.

I gulped down some of my peach juice before calling out, "Kai-chaaan, who is it?" When he didn't reply I left the table and went to look. As I reached the door to the entrance hall, I asked again, "Is it Maeda-san?"

Kaien was standing with his back to me in the middle of the room. He seemed to be speaking to kids.

I suddenly had a very bad feeling.

 _It can't be that… already?_

"Ah, Katsumi-chan." Kaien said, turning to me as I came closer, leaving the two kids in plain sight. "These are Kaname-kun and Yuki-chan. Take them to the living room while I go fetch some tea, will you?"

 _Kiuhdfihliugrnezinmotjsnijdfgbfdiuhjbtirkyhnjdgdjhfgbkjthiuhyuijtnyr!_

In other words:

 _SHIT!_

* * *

Omake: The evolution of Cross Kaien.

Turns out he'd always had the 'bubbliness' in him. Just had to get hyped up to the idea of parenting for it to overflow. And sincerely when it did take over him, I was no less than stunned.

I had so gotten used to Kaien being comparatively cooler and calmer to what he was in the manga that when he finally shrieked out like Juri over my cuteness, I spent the rest of the day hiding away from him. I was two at the time and it was a day like any other. We were outside in the gardens and Kaien was busy discussing with a group of people about the installation of a horse-riding facility, or something like that. I was right beside him, lying on the grass and basking in the afternoon sun.

Then, like a whirlwind to ruin our peaceful day arrived Honda-san, a young ordinary-looking guy, mid-twenties at most, and a very prominent Kaien-enthusiast. He was a very chirpy, noisy guy. If the other architects or whatever people who were there at the time hadn't been present, I was pretty sure Honda would've met Kaien with a hug instead of a never-ending handshake.

"It's been such a long time, Senpai! When I heard that you retired, I tried to look for you to meet one last time to say goodbye. But it was as if you'd disappeared! Then earlier this week Rokuto-san told me that you were opening a school here soon, and that you'd adopted a little girl! It was so sudden that I couldn't believe it at first! But then I thought, if it's Senpai, then nothing is impossible! So I came as soon as I could and here you are!"

"Yes, yes, Honda-kun. Please calm down and release my hand, will you?" Kaien looked slightly pressured. Just slightly. Maybe the people who Kaien was talking to were done, or maybe they got annoyed by Honda, but they left very quickly.

"And- Oh my God! Is she-?!" Honda exclaimed as I sat up, putting his hands over his mouth in a shocked expression.

"Yes. This is my daughter, Katsumi-chan."

"Perfect!" he exploded, making both Kaien and me flinch. "She's the perfect size!"

Kaien recovered first, eyeing Honda suspiciously, "What for?"

" _For this_!" With incredible speed and suddenness, Honda had a very pink and very frilly dress shoved over my head and through my arms. "What do you think, Senpai? Isn't she cute?"

When Kaien didn't answer Honda's question right away, I broke out of my petrification and glanced up at him. Then I was engulfed in a crushing hug as Kaien shrieked out, "She is! Sooo cuuuuuuuute!"

"Yes! I knew you'd like it! I remember that you were always into these things, even when we were out on missions. And…" As Honda blabbered on, I progressively turned paler and paler until I couldn't breathe. When Kaien finally let go of me, I ran off to the mansion and swore to never wear frilly dresses in front of him again.

And that was how I came to know that Kaien had always been a shoujo-manga style person. His housewife mode lasted for a full week until I snapped and kicked him in the shin. Only then did he finally turn into the bubbly but sometimes serious Kaien that we all know and love.

End of Omake.

* * *

 **AN: Yeah, I know. This chapter was more or less a transition chapter, and nothing much happened, but it was an important time-skip.**

 **Review and tell me what you think about the relationship Kaien and Katsumi :D**

 **P S: Possible Kaien POV to appear in one of the next chapters.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Yes, I have decided to be very nice and to update early and to update lots! This is my biggest chapter so far, 14 pages. So enjoy, my lovely readers!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight.**

* * *

Chapter 6

 _Shit shit shit!_

I wasn't ready for this! I hadn't thought about how I would deal with this situation yet. I hadn't gone through the possible ways this conversation would turn out in my head, I hadn't rehearsed the plan Bs and Cs, for heaven's sake I didn't even have a plan A! What would I do if I said or did something wrong and he decided that I was good or bad enough to be a pawn in that weird chess game he'd start playing in the near future?!

And with Kaname sitting on the couch in front of me plus a cute and small Yuki by his side, even twitching seemed like it'd earn me points of some type. So I did what my survival instinct told me to do. I sat as still as I could, expression as blank as I could muster in that super short notice and stared at the wall beside Yuki's head. I knew it was strange, but eye contact was to be avoided at all costs (that was a message from Katsumi's survival instinct). But the wall wasn't interesting enough to keep me from feeling their curious gaze.

 _Don't think about it. Don't show fear. Keep your expression intact. Think about something else. I never noticed how the wall of the living room was a nice beige colour, almost golden. Is it what they call the "Touch of Honey" shade? Or was it Champagne? Whatever it is I hope it doesn't start chipping anytime soon. Soon. Tea should be ready soon. It should have been done already in fact. How much time has passed already? Why isn't Kaien back y- NOOOPE! Wrong direction! Rewind! Tea! Yes, let's see, umm, we have several types of tea in our kitchen. There's green tea, there's chamomile, jasmine, earl grey, Darjeeling, Massala Chai, and some other exotic flavours that I've yet to totally grasp. The spicy flavour of the Massala Chai is what I like best on such cold nights. Maybe that's what Kaien is bringing out. Though I don't know if it'll be to the taste of Yuki and Kana- STOP RIGHT THERE! Retreat to safe territories! That's right! My room-_

"Excuse me, are you Cross-san's daughter?"

… and there went my survival instinct cowering in a mixture of fear and fangirlism.

I took a small, almost imperceptible breath to calm my nerves. Then I slowly turned to look at Kaname. Despite his calmness, he seemed very tired. A shade of weariness tinted his expression. The manga didn't show it, but whether he walked all the way or had to ask help from one of the noble families, getting here must not have been an easy task. And with a clueless little girl as well. Somehow, maybe because he reminded me of Kaien walking around with me when I was a baby, but he pulled at my heart strings. Sue me, but kids who took care of their siblings despite all the dangers and the difficulties and who could still be polite in the end deserved some warmth. It didn't matter if he was a thousand years old ancestor, if he was a pervert or a manipulator. At that moment, he was just an exhausted kid.

"… yes. You can call me Katsumi."

"I know. We have met before. You were very young though, so you wouldn't remember. I am Kaname Kuran, and this is my sister Yuki." He gestured to the little brunette sitting with a blank face beside him.

Ah fuck. Now that I wasn't freaking out anymore, I could clearly see the… deep mess in which these two kids were. They were parentless purebloods, one who had no memories and the other who, despite his ancestor soul, was too young for the whole political shit to come. But this wasn't what bothered me the most.

Kaien, he… It was no wonder he was taking so long. I could feel my throat begin to clog at the pain he must be feeling. After all, she'd been precious to him. Because she was a pureblood, he'd never had to worry about her getting hurt or dying. He'd never had to think about losing her, about never seeing her again, about never hearing her again. But now she was gone forever, and it was too late for everything.

All that was left from her, for him, were the two kids seated in front of me. These two children who resembled her so much. They were the ones who would mend his no doubt bleeding heart, who would give him a ray of sunshine every morning so he could continue to be happy.

And I, the only thing I could do, was give him the time and space he needed right then to be able to paste a smile on his face for the sake of these kids. If the smile was a bit stretched to hide his teary eyes, only he and I would know.

So I looked at Yuki, smiled, and asked gently, "Would you like to try eating some pudding, Yuki-chan?"

* * *

Kaname didn't stay the night.

After Kaien returned from the kitchen, Kaname began explaining things in more detail. Yuki's face was still blank, so I think she wasn't very 'awake' yet. Kaname glanced at me several times, but whether it was appropriate or not, Kaien never asked me to leave. So I stayed and I listened. I didn't bother with Yuki's pudding since she hadn't really acknowledged my question. And if the anime went right, she was going to spill it anyways, so…

Kaname explained to us how after all the things that happened, it would be very unwise to keep Yuki with him. Being a human pureblood, she would be exposed to too much danger in an environment controlled and surrounded by vampires. He also talked about how Ichio, the leader of the Senate, jumped on the matter of their custody after their parents died. Kaname said that he couldn't do anything about himself if he wanted the Senate to not make more of a mess of things. But since there was a possibility for at least Yuki to be spared from all the tension, he was willing to do anything for it.

Before he could start begging though, Kaien had already begun trying to talk Yuki out of her trance, accepting her whole-heartedly as her daughter right away.

While Yuki took her time to respond, I was deep in thought. Things so far were going exactly the same way as they had in my memories. This wasn't good in lots of ways. It was already very clear to me that Kaien would be devastated if something were to happen to any of these two. Add Zero into the equation and things will be even harder for him. It didn't take a deep analysis of Kaien's motives-actions transactions to know that between struggling to protect hunters from killing his son and trying his best to keep his daughter's sanity intact, he'd be torn soon enough. This was bad.

Glancing up, I saw that Yuki was staring at me with wide, curious eyes. Such an innocent child… such a messed up future… But it was too late for Yuki. I couldn't have done anything in the first place. Rido was too strong and I was powerless. Could I do something for Zero though? But what-

Slowly, Yuki shifted her gaze to Kaien, then to Kaname until she was staring at a very specific point in his mouth.

 _The fangs_ … It was true that they were prominent, even visible from where I was seated.

With just slightly hesitating movements, Yuki reached out to touch his fangs.

Not good.

Before she could touch them, I was by her side, gently redirecting her hands away from Kaname's face.

"Easy, Yuki-chan." I said softly. She turned to look at me, then made to touch my normal human canines instead. As she did so, I glanced over her head to see Kaname looking at me. I fixed him with the most serious and reprimanding gaze I could muster with my six-year old little girl face (whose mouth was being pulled in a grimace by little fingers). Despite all that, I think he must have gotten the message, because he relented and continued talking to Kaien about Yuki's adoption. When Yuki was done with my mouth, an unsatisfied look on her face, she turned to Kaien and started groping his face. Kaien opened his mouth to her fingers with the ease of a child receiving a candy.

Seeing that there was no risk anymore, I went back to my seat on the couch. I knew what could be done to prevent the future clusterfuck. Juri's spell on Yuki wasn't originally supposed to be so weak. It was supposed to last for her whole life. Her vampire blood started manifesting in the form of nightmarish hallucinations only when she began getting closely involved with vampires and when she got bitten by them. There was a way to save her, and also save Kaien by extension, from all of the upcoming painful experiences.

I looked up to see Kaname leaving through the door after one last glance at Yuki, then one last glance at me.

The only way, was for Yuki to have no contact with vampires at all, be it random level Es or her precious Kaname-sama.

As for Zero, since there was still some time left, someone was going to have to meddle to make sure his parents never killed Shizuka Hio's lover.

* * *

I realized in the very first week that while things were getting progressively better for Kaien and Yuki, they were getting regressively worse for me.

The daily training sessions were almost completely stopped and there was less and less time to have our usual fun conversations about useless topics. Saturdays are our cake-baking duo day, but he kept going on about "let Yuki-chan add in the chocolates" and "let Yuki-chan help with rolling out the dough" and "if Yuki-chan doesn't want to bake cake, then let's not do it today". I wasn't saying that I wasn't jealous of Yuki hogging all of Kaien's attention, I totally was. After all, how could Kaien decide to not make cakes on the cake-baking duo day?! And just because Yuki didn't want to do it? Oh please.

Today, Kaien was especially excited for some reason. I had my suspicions that his ultimate housewife mode was getting turned on and that he'd soon start going kyaa-kyaa everywhere. Earlier, I even saw him running off to his office mumbling about calling Kaname to get him to visit. If my memories were right, both Kaien and Kaname were going to spend the afternoon fawning over Yuki's cuteness. Fun.

As soon as I heard a car pulling in followed by a series of frantic knocks on the front door, I slipped out of the house through the back door. Why should I stay there to witness such a scene? I'd already seen it and I'd just be awkwardly standing around like a third wheel.

I shrugged on my jacket as I trudged through the forest path around the house. There had to be more interesting things for me to do outside. Besides, even if Kaien didn't participate, I still had to train. _Yeah, let's go do that. There should be a safe and empty space in one of the sheds around the house. I'd just practice silencing my heavy moves, nothing too extreme so as not to make much noise._

But that plan was discarded as soon as I rounded a corner of the mansion and saw the sleek limousine waiting a bit further down the path.

One driver and one guard, both burly, muscly men, probably vampires. Both seated in the front. Plus a mini Takuma Ichijo in the rear seat, gazing out a bit sadly at the snow through the car's tinted window.

I smirked. _Hehe, hehehe, time for me to cause a bit of mischief._

Twenty seconds later, I was sitting in the passenger seat of the limousine right beside Takuma, savoring his expression of utter shock as he noticed that it wasn't Kaname but a little blond girl with a very toothy smile.

"Hello, Kaname's friend. What's your name?" I asked cutely.

He took about 2 seconds to get rid of his disbelief, then he shook his head and asked, "Wh-who are you?"

"I asked the question first."

After thinking for another 2 seconds, he finally replied a bit timidly, "M-my name is Takuma Ichijo."

"I'm Katsumi. Nice to meet you!"

"Yes, umm, but still, how did you get in? The guards…"

"You talking about these guys?" I pointed towards the front seats at the two very unconscious guys. "You should really think about getting better pros. It was way too easy to knock these ones out cold."

I think Takuma must've panicked quite a bit then, because he made a very jerky move towards his sword resting in the corner of the car.

Before he could unsheathe it, I spoke out calmly, posture relaxed with my elbow supporting my face, expression bored, "No need to do that, Taku-chan. I won't hurt you."

"But you-"

"Look. I'm sorry for your guards, ok? They wouldn't have let me in if I didn't knock them out. I was just bored and wanted someone to play. I promise I won't do it next time?"

Takuma's expression at that moment was scrunched up in cute concentration and fidgety doubt. While I was very amused on the inside, I did my best to keep my face serious and apologetic. Though I was sure it'd be very fun, it wouldn't do to scare him away now, right?

He slowly lowered his sword, though he didn't let go of it completely. "…You know Kaname-kun?"

"Of course I do. We met a week earlier."

"Could it be that you're Cross-san's daughter?"

"Yup." I smirked, "You got that right."

At that information, Takuma's stiffness deflated in the blink of an eye. "Please do not scare me that way. The guards would have let you in if you had told them who you were."

I blinked. "Is that so?"

"Yes." He said, putting his sword back in its place against the door. Then he turned to face me with a very polite, mechanical smile. "Your father is an important person at the moment, Katsumi-san. My apologies for the earlier misconduct."

"…" Oh no, he wasn't pulling this on me. This chibi-version of Takuma wasn't going to be a stuck-up brat right? And what was that about the "because your dad is rich and powerful, I'm going to be nice to you" nonsense? Was he always like this?

Takuma began fidgeting as I continued to stare at him intensely without responding to his apologies. He averted his eyes and the mask of calm control and good conduct began chipping under the awkward atmosphere. I smiled. "Taku-chan, do you want to be friends with me?"

"Huh?" He whipped his head towards me and recomposed his features again. "If you ask me to, I believe that it is possible. I would still have to confirm with my parents first-"

"I didn't ask you all this, Taku-chan." I interrupted, still smiling. "Do you _want_ to be friends with me?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean, Katsumi-san."

I sighed. Ok then, seems like I was gonna have to resort to harassment to get things right. I leaned towards Takuma until our faces were one inch apart. (Don't get any ideas, we were kids, the atmosphere was more like that of a bullying scene than a romantic one.) I stared right into his eyes to make him as uncomfortable as possible. As he backed away until his head touched the window behind him, I asked again, "One last time, Taku-chan. Do you _want_ to be friends with me?"

"N-no!" He blurted out, putting his hands in front of him to push me away. But I was already leaning backwards and sitting back into my seat.

I grinned at him again, a bit less like a child psychopath and more like a friendly little girl, "That's great then!" I grabbed his hand and made to pull him out of the car, "Doesn't matter if it's snowing, let's go play outside! Do you know how to build a snowman?"

After all, half-hearted feelings weren't going to work this time around.

* * *

Takuma ended up following me reluctantly as I dragged him to the garden in front of the house. He didn't know how to build a snowman, so we were left with the trial and error method. I was useless at building them. It never snowed in the place I lived in my past life, and I had never travelled abroad. And in this life, Kaien was as useless as me. Even if he knew how to make snowmen, he'd always stumble clumsily and destroy the work midway. So we were never really successful with our attempts.

Takuma complained a bit at first, saying that it would be best to return to the car, that it was too cold, and bla, and bla. Then as we went about gathering more and more snow, he got really into it and began chatting enthusiastically about how to decorate it once it was done. And of course, when Kaname and Kaien walked out of the house to find us putting the finishing touches on the snowman, our noses and hands red and our clothes dripping with ice, that was the end of the fun. Upon seeing them, Takuma's cheerful face turned as red as his nose. Poor kid, he was embarrassed to death because he was found by his friend playing in the snow like a normal child.

I smirked at Takuma's flustered attempt to provide useless justification. I was such an evil kid.

Kaien ushered us both inside in front of the lit fireplace. While Takuma sat silently next to the fire in post-embarrassment gloom, I was getting an earful because of my various infractions.

Sneaking out of the house when no one was looking.

Knocking out Takuma's men.

'Forcing' Takuma to come play in the snow. (That was the first intelligible thing the kid blurted out as 'justification'.)

Kicking Takuma in the butt because he said the truth. (Though I did force him, we both had fun, so stupid Taku-chan.)

"You know that you shouldn't trouble our guests this way, Katsumi-chan! Last time you played a prank on the officer from the Ministry of Education but I let it go. This time, you're banned from cakes for a full week!" Kaien exclaimed.

"Oh come on, Kai-chaaan!" I whined, "We were just playing and you enjoyed that last prank too!"

"His face was blue for a full five days! And yes that was funny, Kai-chan approved! But what should I do if old Ichio comes bugging me because you messed with his personnel?!" Kaien retorted, now in full scolding-mommy-mode.

I flinched away from his loud voice. I never knew he could be so scary while still exuding bubbliness. I'd never seen him scolding Yuki or Zero in the manga/anime. Then I sweat-dropped. It wasn't like Yuki and Zero played pranks or knocked people out either.

Shifting my eyes away from Kaien's scary ones, I noticed that Kaname was staring wide-eyed at me. _What now?_

"Umm, Kai-chan?" I pointed towards Kaname. "Is he going into shock?"

"Hmm?" Kaien turned to look at him, and immediately switched back to his usual housewife mode. "My, what is it Kaname-kun? Are you not feeling well?"

Kaname shifted his wide eyes to Kaien and asked hesitatingly, "She… two guards…" Then he recomposed himself before Kaien could answer, "Cross-san. Even with a high level of vampire energy, that would be impossible."

 _Huh?_ I looked at Kaien, and weirdly enough, the guy was blushing, scratching his cheek as if he was going to brag in a shoujo-manga style. "Well, Katsumi-chan has an even higher level of vampire energy than I did at her age, and I trained her in martial arts, and she's really good at it so… Two guards aren't very difficult for her… Kaname-kun?"

If I knew that one day I'd be able to surprise Kaname to the point that his mouth hung open in shock, I'd have bet with all the night class chibi's and amassed a fortune by now. But Kaname going catatonic wasn't the core issue right then.

 _Did he just, did Kaien just… compliment me?_

I was sure that my face was even redder than Takuma's earlier and my cheeks were hurting because I was grinning too much.

Kaien huffed when Kaname didn't reply. Turning towards me, he continued his scolding, "What are you smiling for, Katsu-chan?! You are being punished, you remember? No cakes for a full week!"

"It's ok!"

"Are you not going to reflect on your actions?"

"I am!" _God, why can't I stop smiling?!_

Kaname seemed to come out of his shock then, announcing that he could hear the guards waking up. He grabbed his still brooding friend and left, saying that he'd take care of the matter with Takuma's grandpa. Kaien thanked him and shot me another glare for causing trouble, but I couldn't care less at the time. I felt like I could take on the entire Ichijo family just with warm love-power and come out victorious. So I didn't stop smiling that night until my jaw cramped.

* * *

Six months passed and I got more and more concerned with my position. The happy feeling of that one time compliment didn't last long. As Yuki opened up to us, I soon became very attached and protective of her. But despite that, the mansion started to get more and more suffocating as the days passed. I always trained alone now. Kaien focused mainly on Yuki's education and on establishing the school, so he didn't really have time for me. I had foreseen that, so I was relatively ok with it. What nagged me was that I was getting nothing done in the mansion. I just spent the days thinking and thinking about what I should do and how I should do it, always coming to the conclusion that I couldn't plan anything elaborate as long as I stayed here knowing only bits and pieces of what was happening in the vampire society. I was not a real kid, so I couldn't spend so many days playing the same game and doing the same thing. I soon started feeling useless. Since Kaien didn't tell me about new training methods anymore, I couldn't really move on with my techniques. Sure, I tried to invent new ones on my own, but they didn't always turn out right and they weren't very fun to practice alone. Because she was more vulnerable than me, Kaien took Yuki around with him all the time now. Having no one and nothing to entertain myself with, it was no wonder I became bored. Enough to turn into an even more mischievous kid than I already was.

I played pranks on everyone I could. Yeah, I know, that was a very childish trick of me just to attract attention, but I was at my limit. Even if I dragged Takuma around to play every time he accompanied Kaname to visit Yuki, I wasn't happy. I mean, I was happy when we played together, but it didn't last. At one point I even considered seeking the company of other adults, but there were only three choices:

The adults who I disliked too much to want to be with them.

The adults who I liked too much to disturb and risk angering them.

The adults who were too dangerous for me to be with them.

Being a bad kid was the only way I found to distract myself from the headache that came with planning the future and the heartache that came with facing the present.

Until one day I went just a tad too far with my pranks. It was just a bit more, but it became almost lethal.

Oh, I wasn't attacked by a vampire. No, those guys I could deal with. Those guys I was trained to deal with. I was attacked by something much, much scarier than a vampire. I was attacked by a wolf.

Yes, I know. How is a wolf scarier than a vampire, you ask? Well it is when you are scared of dogs and animals in general. Which I was. Strange, I know, but I couldn't do anything about it ok? It was a fear which followed me from my past life. I had my reasons. Especially dogs and wolves, my adrenaline used to pump up at the mere sight of them until I learned how to control it (yes, you can control your level of adrenaline through a series of breathing exercises). I couldn't even touch a bird unless I stared at it for several minutes to ascertain that it wasn't hostile.

But yes, that day, I had planned to hide in the forest behind the school until someone noticed and came looking for me. Then I'd scare them by pretending to be a ghost. Usually, it'd be one of Kaien's subordinates, and it didn't matter if they were nice or not, they were all scaredy-cats. So this prank was definitely worth waiting for a few hours in the forest. Or so I thought.

I was first alerted by the sound of wood cracking. Thinking it must be the one put on searching duty, I approached the sound, watching out for the person so they didn't see me before I saw them. It was already dark in the forest though, so it was quite difficult to see past the layer of trees in front of me. Noticing a movement in the corner of my eye, I shifted towards what I assumed was the person. As I neared him/her, I hid behind a tree trunk and prepared to start my prank. Hearing them approach the tree, I prepared to jump out for the ultimate scare, but I never got to say "boo".

Just as I gathered the momentum to move, I heard the sick sound of a deep, low and controlled panting. I stopped dead. If there was one thing I knew from my past experience, it was that when a dog/wolf took notice of you as prey, the first thing you did was freeze.

 _But I can't freeze forever, damn it! I have to get out of here._

Looking around the forest, I tried to think of the path towards the closest infrastructure. That would be the school. And even that was around 500 meters away from here. Shit!

Anyways, I was going to have to get further away from whatever was out there. Since it hadn't barked yet, I assumed it was a wolf and since it hadn't howled yet, there was a chance that it was a solitary wolf. They were rare, but if there'd been a pack around here, Kaien would've been alerted already. Very softly, regulating my breathing and my movements so I made the least sound possible, I moved in the opposite direction of the beast. It wasn't easy though. The forest floor was littered with broken branches and dead leaves, so it wouldn't be long until I made a mis- And there you go, I'd done it.

I took off at break neck speed. Considering I was being pumped high by both adrenaline and vampire energy, that speed was twice that of a normal running adult. But it still wasn't enough. I'd gotten about 100 meters away when the wolf jumped on me, clawing me in the arm and weighing me down with its other paw. I didn't find any voice to scream, so when I saw its mouth and big teeth coming closer and closer to me, I did the only thing I could at the moment.

I released my vampire energy.

It seemed to have a certain effect on the wolf because it backed off. It still growled though.

Then I screamed.

I sat up, launched another wave of vampire energy around, then I began running again. I maintained a constant outward flow of vampire energy as I ran, but I didn't know which direction I was going in anymore. The wolf-tackle had rendered me completely disoriented. "Kai-chaaaaan!" I wailed out several times in between breaths.

 _Shit_ , I thought, my ears tearing up as I ran further away from the panting and running paw-steps that always sounded too close. _He won't come._

And I was right. Despite crying out until my throat hurt, Kaien didn't come. So I stopped screaming and instead focused on running towards the light.

Soon, though not enough in my opinion, the tree lines started thinning and I emerged outside in a wide open plain. Taking in my surroundings, I realized that I'd gone around in a curve and ended up on the east side of the main school building, in the corner of one of the surrounding gardens. If I kept going, I'd reach the school, then I'd be safe.

So I continued running. Since I was unhindered by roots and branches now, I could run faster. But so could the wolf. I think we were evenly matched in terms of speed outside the forest.

The school appeared in my sight after about one minute of sprinting. As I neared it though, I saw that the doors and the windows were closed. The wolf was still right behind me by only about 30 meters. _How the fuck am I going to get in?!_

 _Fuck you and your pranks, Katsumi. Now you're gonna die before the story even starts._

I scanned the area one more time, confirming that no, there was no other building close to here that was open. Climbing the wall was not an option as well, unless I suddenly got bitten by a radioactive spider and turned into spider-kid. What to do, what to do, what to do?

 _Ah shit, my legs won't last much longer… Am I really going to die… no…_ No. There was one last thing I could do. It was either this, or die. So I grit my teeth, skid to a stop and turned around.

That was the first time I was getting a good look at the wolf. Its speed was truly astonishing, yellow eyes narrowed in focus, teeth bared. As it leapt in the air towards me, I couldn't deny the sheer beauty which dripped from the fear and danger that the animal inspired. I think that was the first time I was really facing death. Last time had been too quick for me to even glance up. And when the vampires had attacked my family, I had been too shocked to even understand what was happening. This time, as my heart beat thudded in very loud slow motion against my rib-cage, I felt the wolf's deep killing intent directed towards me, its unwavering confidence that I was its prey, that it was the predator and that it would kill me right then and there. And I think it was that realization which allowed me not to be mesmerized by it, not to think of it as my soul reaper, but as an opponent in a death match.

I clenched my fist, drew it back, and timing it together with the momentum of the wolf's leap, threw a punch which hit it directly in the gut. Its power felt heavy against my small arm, but I dug deep into my vampire energy and, I wasn't sure, but I think I _commanded_ it to enhance my strength. It had never happened before, but I think under the pressure of the moment, I broke some kind of barrier in the usage of vampire energy. It had never felt so… aggressive, like fire running through my veins instead of blood. It hurt, but it did what I told it to.

The wolf flew across the field, at some point hitting the ground and rolling several times before roughly skidding to a stop. I watched, panting for breath and gripping my arm, as the wolf didn't move. I waited for about 3 minutes. As I swallowed painfully in a failed attempt to ease my parched throat, the wolf stirred and whimpered. Then, limping, it dragged itself back in the direction of the forest. Only after it disappeared from my sight did I allow the vampire energy to dampen back to its original… intensity. If I wasn't on the brink of death, I would have marveled over the fact that I had almost pulled the equivalent of a crossing between Tsunade and Kyuubi-chakra in the Vampire Knight world. But vampire energy was not chakra, and I was a human, not a vampire. Which meant that pulling such a stunt made me double over and cough up a good few drops of blood.

I had to get out of there before the wolf got attracted by the blood again and decided that a punch wasn't worth missing a tasty dinner after all.

Using my long sleeve, I wiped the blood off my mouth, then off the grass. I did it as best as I could. It wouldn't do to attract stray vampires on top of animals. Then I stood up, only to drop back down to the grass.

 _Not good_ , I thought. _I can't stand. No choice but to crawl out of here then._

And I did just that. With all the strength that was left in my arms, I dragged myself out of the field until I reached the main school building. Once I was near enough to the wall, I leaned against it and tried to stand again. Ok, this I could do. Supporting myself against the rough, cold wall, I slowly made my way around the school area, wobbling from wall to wall until I got to the magnificent glass-topped reception hall. To my immense relief, the door wasn't locked. I got in, spotted the toilet, which of course was on the complete other side of the huge fucking hall, and dragged myself to it.

Inside the washroom, every facility was too high for me. So I had to painfully climb on top of the counter. Then I got a good look at the mess that I had become.

My left arm, where the wolf had dug its claws to keep me still, was bleeding and seemed like a very ugly wound. My mouth, my hands and various parts of my clothes were also stained with blood.

 _Ok Katsumi, you don't want to risk an infection, so you've got to clean up. Ok. Ok. First, the hands._

With shaking hands, I opened the tap and rinsed the blood off. Then I brought the water to my mouth and face to get rid of the stains. When they didn't go away, I used soap. Didn't taste good, but the sight and taste of blood in my mouth was really… sickening. Once the superficial things were washed off, I got to the real stuff.

Since it was summer, I was wearing a long-sleeved cotton T-shirt and a light camisole inside. Gingerly, I took the T-shirt off. I had always been very, shall we say, delicate with wounds on my body. I didn't like getting hurt. And worse than getting hurt, I hated treating the wounds. Antiseptics stung and needles were scary. No one was going to convince me otherwise.

I turned my arm to get a good look at the wound. Three deep (in my standards, but they were rather shallow in real. The wolf could have done much worse with its claws) ragged piercings. _Ok. Ok, you can do it. It'll be fine._

I wet the T-shirt, wrung it a bit, and brought it to the wound as I looked the other way. _Ok, that wasn't so bad_ , I thought. Applying water didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. After that, I did my best to clean the injury with the T-shirt, constantly rinsing off the blood. Then I tied the T-shirt around my arm to prevent it from bleeding more.

Looking at the mirror once more, I made sure that there was no blood that I couldn't wipe off before climbed down the counter and made my way back out. After having rested my legs during the cleaning, it was a bit easier to walk. It took me about 30 minutes at snail pace to get close to the mansion (yeah, that was how far the mansion and the school were from each other).

Veering onto the main path towards the house, relief and the knowledge that I would soon have to face Kaien about this matter made me walk a bit straighter. But I slowed down as I saw the black limousine parked in front of the house, a grumbling Takuma leaning against the door.

Fuck.

I could try to turn back, but I didn't have much energy left to walk back to an open place anymore. And my chance, if there had even been any, passed when Takuma sniffed, glanced up and almost fell over in shock.

Too late.

"Katsumi?" Takuma uttered, making a step towards me. Before he could take a second step, the driver and the guard were in front of him, stopping his movement and facing me with caution. "Takuma-sama, please get in the car." The driver, Yoshida-san instructed.

I sighed and continued to walk towards the house. Clearing my throat, I spoke in a level, bored tone in an attempt to dispel the tension, "It's fine, Taku-chan. It's nothing. I just got hurt in the woods while I was fooling around."

"Blood…" Takuma whispered.

As I passed the car to get to the house, the guards tightened their formation around Takuma. "You should listen to Yoshida-san, Taku-chan. Get in the car." I advised without stopping. The sooner I was in the house and he was away from the blood, the better it'd be for both of us.

But before I even reached the door, Kaname and Kaien had stormed out, eyes wild and mouths stretched in firm, serious lines. In the blink of an eye, Kaien had me in a firm grip, checking my throat, shoulders and arms for bite wounds.

"It wasn't a vampire, Kai-chan." I muttered, heart suddenly heavy at his extremely worried expression.

"Then what is this, Katsumi?" He asked, his voice low and deadly as he gripped my T-shirt-bandaged left arm. I hissed under the sudden pressure, and he relaxed his fingers.

"… It was a wolf. I punched it, but it's still in the forest behind the main school building…" Very unwillingly, my voice cracked at the end. _Now was not the time for acting like a baby! Get a grip girl!_

Kaien stared on as I steeled my eyes and continued, "The wound is not too bad, but I think we still need to go to the hospital."

"… you must have been scared, Katsumi-chan." He said softly, standing up and ruffling my hair.

I didn't reply.

Kaname and Takuma left right away.

A week later, I was standing in Kaien's office with Kaname and Takuma, telling him I was leaving the mansion.

* * *

 **AN: Haha. HAHAHAAAAA! So what do you think of this? Not much happened in the last chapter, but I just hope this one wasn't an overdose (lol).**

 **Though I must say, even I didn't know things were going to turn out this way. I guess this is what the "Freedom to the Characters!" phenomenon (don't google, I just made that up). I never planned for Katsumi to become a prankster, but eh, it suits her, I guess. The wolf attack was also not planned by me, it just happened because of her! So now even I'm all excited to see how she will change the plot just by being herself! Go, Katsumi!**

 **Oh, and I really loved all the reviews I got last time, so please review this time too and tell me what you think of this development ;)**  
 **See you next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: So firstly, I want to thank absolutely everyone who reviewed for the last chapter! So far I haven't gotten a flame, so I'll take that as a sign that I've been doing pretty well with this fic :D**

 **Aside from that, WE ARE CELEBRATING GETTING PAST 100 FOLLOWERS! *Throws out candy, throws out flowers, throws out love and throws out a 4k+ long KAIEN POV!***

 **There's a deal with the Kaien POV though: I absolutely can't write in first person perspective. I just can't, so it's a third person Kaien POV. I've tried my best with it, and I think it came out pretty good. So I'll just stop stalling and let you guys read it! May you finally get your answers!**

* * *

Chapter 7

Kaien POV

Kaien understood Katsumi the moment he saw her. He gazed deep in her eyes and understood the loneliness, the confusion, the fear mixed with awe that shone through, and finally he understood the maturity of eyes that had seen too much. He didn't question anything, because he understood just too well how this world had things that bore no answers. And when Raito lifted the protection barrier from the room, Kaien felt his own restrained vampire energy react to the deep concentration of power that emanated from the little body of the girl. And then he knew, even before that bastard Raito told him, he already knew that this girl was the same as him. He was seeing her fate reel out right in front of his eyes. A human with vampire energy, a human who would not age, who would outlive the people she loved, who no matter what happened and with who she was, would always end up alone. Even if Kaien took care of her, she would either die young, or live in misery. Such a pity. And she was such a cute little thing too, such pretty purple eyes, purple eyes that were becoming increasingly wider, purple eyes that were too close to his face, pur-

 _BONK!_

As the little baby toppled backwards with a soft "oof" sound, Kaien could only think one thing _. Cu-cute. So cu- No, control._ There were a lot more pressing matters that he had to attend to. There was a group of level-E threatening a town in the South that he wanted to take care of before retiring completely. He'd agreed to take care of the girl, there was no other choice apart from him, after all. But that mock-father role could wait for a bit. The association had taken care of her for two or three days already. They could babysit her for a few weeks more right?

Apparently, that was not the case. Raito's adamant rejection of the girl shocked him a bit, but he could also understand the logic behind it. Or rather than logic, he should say that he understood the instinct behind it. He'd faced it many times in the past, so he could recognise Raito's unwillingness to get more involved with this girl who was so different form the norm. The base's protection was just a façade, this place was almost entirely covered in barrier charms and the stationed hunters could easily take care of the vampires who might visit. No, as strange as it may sound, it wasn't the vampires that scared him, it was that tiny thing of a girl. If he wasn't being involved in this matter, Kaien would have been laughing out loud by then. Instead, he looked at Raito seriously and took his decision.

Fine, he would indulge them. After all, he needed to keep a good relationship with the association for his future projects. Becoming their enemy would benefit no one. And despite everything, every weakness that they tried to hide, Kaien would never really hate humans. He liked them a lot, he understood them. If anything, Kaien was a very understanding man. Maybe that was why he was the one who came up with the "Peace between Vampires and Humans" project.

He didn't look at the child again. He knew what he'd see in her eyes after that rejection, and he wouldn't like it. Even if the kid, Katsumi, as Rokuto had so carefully provided, was not a normal human, even if she was a powerless, pitiful brat, she was still just a fragile child. And even if Kaien understood, that did not mean he always approved of the way normal humans worked. He had no need to play nice.

So he grabbed Katsumi and strode out of the bureau.

* * *

On the way to the small safe house he had near in this area, Kaien had time to cool his anger and to wrap his mind around the idea of raising a kid.

…

He had no idea how to go about it.

He'd never raised a child before. Sure, he'd babysat some before for his companions. But never had he actually gone about the 'taking care' process from a-z. His confidence at raising her lowered even more once he reached the house, made tea for himself and sat down on his couch to enjoy the fire. Only then did he think: Oh, the kid must be hungry too.

But he had no idea what kids that age ate or drank. In his haste to get out of the office, he'd forgotten to ask Raito and Rokuto about those things…

He glanced at the drooling kid and sighed inwardly. Milk should do it, right?

So he went and made the milk. But why wouldn't she drink it?!

He lost track of time as he watched her struggle cutely with the glass, only realising that she couldn't drink from it after she had made a mess out of the milk.

Ok. There was no other way around it. He needed help ASAP.

* * *

… _. Is she going to die?_

She was… more fragile than Kaien thought she'd be. Some hours in the cold and she was down with fever. Kids were broken really easily.

Well that was just even more proof of the fact that Kaien was not fit for the role of the care-taker. If he took care of this kid, she'd probably die because he didn't take care of her properly. And seriously, he didn't want to have the death of a child on his hands, amongst countless others. It was with that in mind that he asked Juri to take care of Katsumi. And of course, she had already foreseen that request. Juri had already accepted Katsumi before he had even asked. Sometimes it ached at his heart how much of a gentle soul the woman was. Oh, her husband as well, but meh, who cared about Haruka?

After making sure the kid was feeling better after the doctor's visit, Kaien set about on his day. He had a lot of work to do, and since the Kurans had already decided to take care of 'his responsibility', as Raito had put it, he had nothing to restrain him anymore. He'd already spotted the land he wanted to buy, he just had to go to the Real Estate Agency to get things started. He also had to schedule a meeting with the Government. Having the Kurans assisting him with the procedures made things a lot smoother as well. He was very thankful, he'd make sure to repay their kindness someday.

The land owners were very happy with Kaien's purchase, so much they offered to pay for some of the renovations that had to be done in the castles. Such efficient people! He knew it was because he'd offered them enough money to probably buy a small country, but being generous at this point would only be an advantage. People tended to overlook a lot of things when a lot of money was involved. Things such as non-aging humans or vampires, for example. Sometimes they also couldn't care less about where the money came from as long as it went directly into their pockets. Oh well, as long as the work got done right and fast, Kaien could only be happy.

So he reached the Kurans' mansion in a pretty cheerful mood that night. He came to inform them about the successful happenings of the day, to thank them and to say goodbye. He'd leave straight away after that, in his brand new car! (It was second-hand but since he'd just bought it, it was new to him).

Needless to say, when he heard the loud wailing from outside the front-door, he panicked for a bit. He hoped nothing had happened to Juri, her very cute son or, as an afterthought, to the kid he brought there yesterday. Turned out it was only Katsumi having a normal crying fit. He hadn't heard her crying since he took her in, so it surprised him a bit. He went right to where the sound was coming from, curious about what had made her cry. But Kaien took one look at her big fat tears, her desperate eyes and her trembling lips, and instantly regretted his decision to leave her to the Kurans.

This time, Kaien wasn't just understanding. He was feeling it with his whole being. The girl's frantic pleas pierced a hole so deep in his heart, he started hurting as well. Looking at her, he found himself violently thrown back to his own childhood, to those cruel memories of utter rejection, of always having to hide away from people to live another day, of always staring longingly in the shadows as the normal children played together. All of that until his master took him in. But before that, there had been so much that Kaien had gone through that he could never really forget it all despite how much time passed. And this girl, Katsumi, was the same as him. He'd known that already, but at that moment, he felt their similarity so, so strongly. It was as if he was looking at a reflection of himself, he as a small child struggling frantically for acceptance, for his acceptance. He had the feeling that if he ignored those small outstretched hands at that moment, the girl would break forever.

So Kaien took the child in his arms and decided at that instant that it didn't matter if he stumbled or almost killed her. He'd take care of Katsumi, strengthen her so she'd never break. That was the one thing he'd never allow.

* * *

Kaien found that his everyday life soon became tinted with the warm purple hue that was Katsumi. The child did not cry after that night at the Kurans'. She was not difficult to take care of, didn't have temper tantrums and was mostly very calm and collected even in her earlier years. Kaien soon understood that Katsumi's level of intelligence was far beyond the reach of normal kids. That was why he focused most of her education on some light home-teaching, giving her plenty of books and freedom to do what she liked. Apart from her baffling amounts of vampire energy and her higher than average intelligence, Kaien had also realised that the child's spirit was in a very… unusual style. Kaien wasn't psychic or anything. It was something anyone would notice once they spent enough time with her. She was, in a serene manner, a rather uncontrollable soul. That was another reason he didn't restrict her to any system, that he let her grow in the sentiment of complete freedom, kind of like a tree.

Of course, while she was free in spirit, he couldn't allow her to physically roam around anywhere she liked without assistance. It wasn't because he wanted to control her or something, oh no. It was because she did not have control over her vampire energy yet. Even if she had managed to bring it close to her, she couldn't completely restrain it yet. And that was dangerous for her. Until he could find time to teach her about controlling her vampire energy and defending herself, he couldn't let her out of his sight.

And when he started actually training her, Kaien's thoughts were no less than "iuhfgnOHTI9hrtojifduhgishtiouh, where does she get so much power and skill from?! God, my kid is a heaven-sent genius!" There was no other word for it. Kaien was genuinely impressed. But he didn't have time to praise her. It was good if she already had talent and motivation, she was going to need them after all.

And so Kaien trained her, making the most of her potential to make her as strong as possible. And that girl, that girl took everything in at the speed of light. In less time than Kaien could count, Katsumi had developed the skills of an assassin. The things he taught her so she could protect herself turned deadly in her hands. He remembered in one of the simulation games they'd played, he'd been acting as the creepy stalker and Katsumi was supposed to evade him or to neutralise him if he got too close. He'd let go for a bit, turning a bit crazy at her cuteness as she walked down the halls with that cute pout on her face. Then she'd turned into one of the rooms and he'd followed her, planning to attack soon. He'd let out a creepy "Katsu-chaaaan" to let her know he was coming, but he'd only had time to take two steps into the room before he felt the very slight pressure of cold metal against his neck. Behind him had come Katsumi's childish voice tuned low and dangerous, "Don't move, Kai-chan. Since you haven't taught me how to use a weapon, I have no idea if I could control the knife if you make any brusque movements." He hadn't sensed her at all. Well, he'd been fooling around a bit, but still. She'd been four at the time, perched on top of a cupboard and some stacked books to gain height. And it turned out that she hadn't even used a knife that night (it'd been a metallic pen!). She'd stopped him with a mere bluff. He'd taught her how to hide and she'd turned it into stalking-skills, and when he was supposed to be the stalker too… his pride had since then taken several hits in front of Katsumi's skills. And she was still so tiny! But he couldn't deny that there was something incredibly cute about such a small child mastering deadly skills (yeah, that was Kaien's creepy side talking).

Anyways, despite teaching her all sorts of martial arts techniques, Kaien never taught her how to use a weapon. He had the intention to wait until she got a lot older to even begin with that. It was not that he doubted Katsumi's skills, *inner obvious laugh*. And even though there was the issue about "it's not very safe to hand a weapon to child", Kaien's main reason for that decision had nothing to do with precautions at all. His main concern was the Hunter's Association. They weren't bad guys, but if they came to know of Katsumi's skills and if they evaluated her as able to handle a weapon, that would be the start of a very hard journey for the girl. Martial arts were fine, they were discreet, they were not visible unless she showcased it. But if she suddenly started carrying a weapon around, people would begin asking questions and spreading rumours. Even if she didn't carry it around, the simple fact that she'd be learning weapon-handling meant he'd have to find ways to procure those weapons. He had some, of course, but still, it was too risky. If the Association found out, he didn't doubt that they'd draft her away on missions and assignments instantly. Also… martial arts were fine because they didn't inflict outward damage to the body. Punching someone or even strangling them didn't cut their skin open, it didn't spray the person red until the colour stained their skin. With martial arts, there was no blood. Kaien knew just too well how traumatising that liquid could be and there was no way he would allow the life from that child's face to fade out because of some gore.

As far as Kaien was concerned, he did his best to protect her. Apart from one thing. And he regretted that one exception the evening Katsumi returned home with a wound on her arm, eyes firm despite the tiredness that he knew lay behind. Kaien did everything, but despite knowing that it was a necessity, Kaien failed to expose the child to danger. That was probably where he became weak in his attachment, where his love for the child transgressed the barriers of his heart and he could never bring himself to reveal her to real danger.

Even if he didn't treat Katsumi like an authentic child, even if his affection for her was not totally that of a parent towards a daughter, it came incredibly close. He'd often thought about what his relationship with Katsumi could be summed up as, but he'd always come up with the 'complicated' answer. He'd often just equate his affection to that of a parent for their child, but deep down he knew that that was not the case. His doubts about this were made clearer when Yuki joined their household. Towards the Kuran descendant, Kaien could not deny his 'daddy feels'. When Yuki began living with them, Kaien realised that he didn't see Katsumi as his child even if he did raise her. Instead, she was a very reliable and very precious equal. He already noticed that Katsumi felt left out when he started caring for Yuki, but he had no intentions to lie to the child and act as if he'd treat both of them the same. Katsumi was very mature and perceptive, so he had a hunch she'd be extremely hurt if he was suddenly insincere. He was sure she'd understand, because Kaien understood that she'd understand. Of course, she'd be hurt in the beginning, but she'd get used to it and they'd be able to continue with their not-so-normal but close relationship. But even the all-understanding Kaien could not completely comprehend the mystery that was a woman's heart, which was why he messed up a lot when he suddenly had to take care of _another_ woman's heart (Yuki). Kaien knew that he was blundering with Katsumi, but since she was his equal, he focused on his other job instead. He'd fix things soon, he'd thought. But while he was busy worrying over the inner complexities of their life, Kaien was too late to realise that he was a making a terrible mistake in the everyday aspect of the matter.

That evening, Kaname had come to see Yuki for his monthly visit. The child had less and less time to drop by Kaien's estate since he was being thoroughly re-introduced into the vampire society under the Ichijo family's care. He couldn't take care of Juri's son while the latter was at Ichijo's place, but he could definitely make sure the boy had a great time every time he came for a visit, so he would not hold back. For that reason, Kaien made sure to be at home that night and to busy himself dressing Yuki up into cute clothes so his brother could be happier. He was planning to make every time Kaname came by into cosplay nights, that way things would always be interesting for the child. With his mind preoccupied with these thoughts, Kaien did not wonder about where Katsumi was that night. She was always busy pranking people these days and he was sure she doing just that (he wasn't really wrong - -'). If she didn't come back by the time Kaname left, he'd send for people to look for her. But his secretaries were more and more unwilling to be assigned to the "find Katsumi" jobs as the days went by. He couldn't blame them, Katsumi was extremely difficult to find if she was serious, but he guaranteed their support through a very generous overtime pay, so... Anyways, he wasn't really worried about Katsumi.

That was until Kaname suddenly put down his cup of tea and announced that he could smell blood. Knowing that a vampire's sense of smell was not a joking matter when blood was involved, Kaien immediately called his general staff manager to confirm that everyone had gone home and was okay. Then, after ushering Yuki to her room, he turned to Kaname and asked for information such as "how much blood" or "how close can you smell it" while putting on his jacket. When Kaname didn't reply, Kaien looked up and blinked at the hint of worry on the boy's face. At that moment, Kaname did not even have to utter the words for Kaien to understand just what was wrong. There was blood somewhere on his estate and they hadn't seen Katsumi for the entire evening.

Kaien's heart must have stopped for a mili-second before jerking back into overdrive. Together with Kaname, he burst out of the house in less time than it took to blink, praying nothing had happened to the girl. So many thoughts of what-ifs passed through his mind at that moment that he felt physically sick. He didn't know what had happened to her, but the simple fact that there was BLOOD involved in the case had him worried to death.

But then she was there, right in front of him. She was breathing, living, did not appear to have major wounds on her person and, thank the heavens and the hells and anything that could be thanked, Katsumi was not broken. She still had that unwavering glint of life in her eyes even as she held back her tears. At the confirmation that Katsumi was still really alive and kicking in both body and soul, Kaien's heart allowed itself one whole second of immense joy and relief before guilt submerged it. And it didn't matter if she had survived that encounter with the wolf or that she had acted like a very brave girl, Kaien would never be able to forgive himself for forcing this experience onto the child. Even as he patted her head and smiled with relief at her safety, Kaien's heart was being internally crushed by the knowledge that it was _**his**_ fault. _**He**_ had failed to prepare her for when she faced real danger. _**He**_ had been too soft to recognise that _**he**_ was allowing a very crucial part of her training to slip by. _**He**_ had failed to protect her properly simply because he had been too preoccupied with a superficial sort of protection that came with his affection towards the child. And it was _**Katsumi**_ who had to pay for _**his**_ mistake. Unforgivable.

That was why, when Katsumi came to his office a week after the incident to announce that she was leaving the mansion, determination and purpose in her eyes, Kaien did not object. He had spent the entire week thinking about what he should do to remedy the situation, trying to think of ways to properly repair his blunder (though he knew he could never truly forgive himself). But just so Katsumi would be properly prepared if there was a 'next time' and there would definitely be a next time, Kaien had worried countless hours over how he should proceed to the next step of the training. He had not been able to honestly look at the girl in the eyes over the last week. Even though it was very unprofessional and cowardly of him, Kaien wanted to steel himself before he faced her again. Otherwise, he'd just end up melting again, failing again, and putting her in worse danger than she could be in, again. So seeing Katsumi meet his eyes with such firm conviction that day, Kaien thought, _Ah, I will never be do it_. He was never going to be able to let go of the affection that he had developed for the child to the extent of exposing her to real danger. Sure, he did train her, they did have those simulation exercises and they even had some serious fights. But he could never deploy his killing intent on her or watch as she slowly burned the image of a dying person on the inside of her mind. He would never be able to do it. In that case, the only thing he could do was let someone else do it. That day, Katsumi's eyes shone with somewhat renewed energy, and Kaien understood that she also understood him. She already knew that he'd agree, she was just like that, his Katsumi. To begin with, he did not even have the power to restrain her. He'd been forgetting that lately, what with Yuki around and all. As long as he could admire the strength and freedom of her unbroken soul again, Kaien thought that he could live with himself, maybe even forgive himself a little.

To protect Katsumi to the end, Kaien ultimately had to let her go.

So he did.

* * *

Katsumi POV

The wound took 5 days to heal completely, zero scars or painful muscles. That was the magic of vampire energy. I hadn't yet told Kaien the entire story of what happened during the attack. I'd only given him a rough overview, meaning that most of the part where I was supposed to recount about my vampire energy going crazy and me coughing up blood was left out. The reason for that was simple: Kaien was avoiding me.

Knowing him, he was probably crying in his office all night thinking things like "It's all my fault! So I'm gonna punish myself by not having contact with her anymore!" The idiot.

Seriously though, it had come to the point where I was planning to ambush him in the corridor to demand that he stopped being stupid. I mean, yes, it was true that in a certain way, Kaien was at fault for what happened with the wolf. If there was one thing that I was certain of in my relationship with Kaien, it was that we didn't lie to each other. So I wasn't going to act all goody two shoes and deny his mistake. But that was it. It had been a mistake and for my own selfish reasons, I wanted him to get over it so we could continue being on good terms. Wallowing in misery like that wasn't making me happy at all. I'd give him a week max and then I'd jump on him and hug him to urge to return back to normal.

Apart from the matter with Kaien though, the days after the wolf attack passed very slowly. I had a bandage on my arm for the first three days and I was confined to the house. I couldn't even go out to the garden until Kaien made sure there were no more wolves in or around the estate anymore. (I saw some papers from an animal transportation company on his office desk, so I was pretty sure he didn't kill it/them). After that I played sometimes with Yuki and other times I spent lounging somewhere in the house or on the roof, letting my thoughts flow free.

Things became both easier and harder after the wolf attack. The danger was real. I couldn't run away from it or just say "we'll see later" anymore. Everything was so… magnified in those few minutes when I was so close to death that the days I spent in the mansion afterwards seemed hollow. Meaningless. It became easier to fully grasp the fact that time was ticking and that I was doing nothing. Kaien's worried face flashed through my thoughts several times, heavy on my heart. This was the hard part, because while I wanted to protect him and the future, I also wanted to run away from it all. I felt like I really, really needed to get away from Kaien. It was a strange feeling and even I was confused. I liked Kaien, we were great friends. But there was this tearing sensation in my gut every time I thought about how his eyes had gone dark with pain and worry. While I wanted us to go back to the usual friendly conversations, I was a bit glad that he was avoiding me in the beginning. If not, I think I would have been the one hiding away. So much for being confident and full of willpower… I couldn't even handle one measly wolf attack and I was thinking ways to remedy the… the FUCKING PUREBLOOD WARS to come? Oh please… what will I do if I fail? How will I face Kaien then? What should I do if he ends up hurting again because I mess up in the future?!

Yeah, I was in a pretty bad mood for some days. But, you know, I wasn't one to stay angry or depressed for long. Last time such thoughts had popped up, I'd gone about pranking people… and nearly got eaten because of it. This time I went back to the safe and sure method: the almighty meditation! Yay!

Just for information, I don't do meditation with crossed legs or anything. I do it in whatever comfortable position I can get into, with my eyes closed and my breathing slow. So yeah, by the fifth day, I went into a meditation frenzy to calm my thoughts down. And it worked! (Of course it did, it's the safe and sure method, duh!)

I spent hours evening out my breathing, calming down my heart rate, softening my vampire energy (because it had become somewhat… raggedy after that 'ultimate use' during the 'power punch') and I finally came to a satisfactory conclusion. And it was this:

Do what I want.

*Glinting teeth and thumbs up pose*

Yeah. Fuck the show, fuck etiquettes, fuck what I can and can't do, fuck it all. I was gonna live here for hundreds of years, I had no plan to die early, I wanted to protect the people I like and I wanted to have fun. As long as there was no money constrictions (which there wasn't, Kaien was rich, LOL), then I could do anything I wanted to. Now, there were lots of ways I could do about doing it, so which way to take…?

It was while pondering about this very luxurious question that I was interrupted by a child's voice calling my name.

I was currently on the roof of the mansion, lying on my back and gazing out at the salmon coloured dusky sky when I heard Takuma's clear and tone blank "Katsumiiiiii" call.

I manoeuvred around my position and glanced down the front of the mansion. Yup, the sleek black car was parked neatly in the drive-way and there was Takuma, calling out with his hands cupped at his mouth. Kaname was also accompanying him in his search, looking behind some of the trees and shrubs around the garden.

 _Dafuq are they doing here?_

I decided to not reply and to spy on them from above. They weren't supposed to come again this early in the month, they usually didn't have so much free time. After all, it'd been only week since their last visit. And why were they looking for me inside the fountain's water? I was no Suigetsu, how did they expect me to fit there?! The dumbasses.

A bit exasperated at the thought of where they might look for me next, I jumped down from the roof and called out, "A flower-pot? Really? What material do you guys think I'm made of?!"

Both turned around to look at me dusting my clothes. Jumping down from the roof was a lot easier than climbing up. As long as I made sure to cushion my fall by bending my knees, there was no problem. The vampire energy took care of the rest.

Kaname looked slightly wide eyed, but Takuma was used to my stunts by now, so he didn't lose time in approaching me. "Cross-san said you should be around the house, so we were looking."

"Did it never cross your mind that I might have been _inside_ the house?"

"No, Cross-san said he was 'absolutely sure, had no doubt, was certain' that you were around the mansion."

That stupid man knew me too well…

I sighed. "Anyways, why were you looking for me?" I looked at Kaname and asked, "Since you're not with Yuki, I assume you have some different business today?"

"Yes." Kaname stepped forward. "We wanted to apologize for our rude behaviour the other day, as well as wish you a full recovery. Cross-san told us that your wound was superficial, but we were still worried."

I blinked. Takuma had been fidgeting all throughout Kaname's 'diplomatic speech', throwing glances at my arm. It wasn't really 'we were worried'. It was more like 'Takuma was worried'. Warmth bubbled up in my chest suddenly and I grinned widely.

"Oh, so Taku-chan was worried about me, his best friend? How sweet of you!" I chirped out.

The poor boy blushed a deep shade of red and began denying straight-away with a frustrated pout. Takuma in the manga had always seemed like a smooth guy to me, always able to save the situation with a cheerful smile. Never knew he was this easy to tease.

"No need to fret though." I said, lifting up my sleeve. "It's already healed."

Forgetting his embarrassment, Takuma stared wide eyed at the smooth spot on my arm before sighing deeply and hanging onto Kaname for support. "Seriously Katsumi… don't scare us like that!"

Letting go of the sleeve, I grinned again, savouring his moment of weakness. Yeah, he was a much more interesting guy than the manga made him out to be. Then again, this wasn't the manga, and he wasn't just the nice guy Takuma who gets used by purebloods for fun. And if I had any say in this, he would never have to fall down that road this time.

I glanced up at Kaname, his perpetual deep-in-thought face still on. This guy was the epicentre of all that was happening and that was going to happen to the people I cared about. This stoic brat of an ancestor who will have the power to selfishly decide who to keep and who to discard. Messing with him was out of the question. He was too strong for me _and_ he was important to Kaien. But still… hmmmmmm…

"Say, Kaname," I began, adopting an air of suspicion. "Did you just accompany Takuma on his friendly visit, or do you have something to say?"

Kaname blinked, probably genuinely confused. "I do not have anything to add, Katsumi-kun."

"Hah, no need to be shy about it!" I placed my hands on my hips and almost jeered at him. "I know what you want to say, so might as well say it already!" If it wasn't clear yet, I was super bluffing. I knew Kaname had nothing to say and (HAHA) poor Takuma was glancing nervously between us, wondering what was going on. But I finally had the answer, I knew what I was going to do now. The perfect plan to get me right in the middle of the brewing storm, right to the heart of the monster. No way I wasn't taking it, so bluffing my way through was almost a pleasure. The role of the smart idiot was simply golden sometimes.

Kaname looked progressively more confused and affronted as I continued to urge him into saying 'what he wanted to say'. "Once again, Katsumi, I do not know what you are talking about." He was losing patience. Good. Time for part two of the plan: Super Smart Detective Mode.

"Hmpf, you thought I wouldn't notice it? You come here to see Yuki, but you also have an ulterior motive!" Utter nonsense! And it was terribly hard to keep myself from laughing as Takuma took everything extremely seriously! He turned to look at Kaname with his hand raised to his mouth in 'gossiping ajhumma's shock'. It all seemed to irk Kaname even more.

"And what would that 'ulterior motive' that you speak of be, Katsumi-sensei?" Oh, was he humouring me? Oh well never mind.

"Subtle aren't you? But if you ask this nicely, I have no other choice but to reveal your secret actions to the world. The truth is that _you_ ," I pointed my finger to his face, "are always evaluating my skills! And you do that because you desperately want to hire me as a body guard! Admit it!"

At this point, even the guards who usually stayed in the car had popped their heads out in panic. Takuma had that "Oooh! So that was it!" face. Kaname stayed stoic. Didn't blame him though, who would take a kid spurting nonsense seriously?

"Katsumi-kun." He said evenly. "You are six. Even if you have outstanding combat skills, you are still a child. I would be grateful if you did not put such charges on me."

"Kaname-san." I said, just as evenly, lowering my voice. "You know as much as I do that age is a not a determining factor in this world." Then I looked at him in the eyes. I had probably been saying shit up until now, but they were all a prelude to this. I was betting this plan on this part. Kaname had understood me before (when I prevented Yuki from touching his fangs). He'd probably understand what I was getting at again. "The duty of a bodyguard is to protect important people. I am sure you understand such motives. It would be very unwise to refuse protection when it is granted, especially in such stormy weathers. Ain't I right?"

Even if I was being stupid earlier, there was some truth to the things I was saying. Kaname knew I had brains and he knew that I was strong. He also knew that I had intuition and insight. By speaking in codes like this, I was putting oil on the cog-wheels in his head and he was probably wondering about how much I knew, how much I had found out and what I was thinking. He'd soon come to the conclusion that I had my own reasons to propose what I did and that those reasons lay in the idea of protecting my loved ones, ergo, Kaien and probably Takuma. _Yes, that's it, take the bait_. This plan might seem like I was willingly making myself a pawn in Kaname's game. But if Kaname was smart enough, and he was, he'd notice very soon that I was playing, but for myself. I'd just proposed to become an ally player, not a pawn. And weighing the pros and cons as he was, I think he was going to accept in three, two, one-

"We should go to Cross-san's office. This matter is not for us to decide."

Bingo.

It was a risky move, very risky, I know. Kaname was probably thinking that he'd make me his ally, then drag me down as a useful tool once things got messy. But if I kept control, things would go exactly as I wanted them to. I had already lost a lot of time in the mansion. Sure, I was close to Kaien, whom I wanted to protect, but I couldn't protect what was precious to him just by staying close to him. If I stayed, things will deteriorate to the point that I'd be forced to watch him break down as he slowly lost his reasons to live. The best thing for me to do was to get involved with the problem, before it even became a problem. I had already come to the conclusion that both Yuki and Zero had to stay human for things to turn out good. To make sure of that, I was going to have to go down to the source, aka, Kaname. I didn't like it. The guy could kill me in seconds if he wanted to. But I could think of no other way and Takuma'll be there, so I'll get past my wariness. Oh, by no other way, I meant that I did think about the usual get-stronger-until-shit-gets-bad-in-ten-years plan. But that was a shitty plan and it'd be all too late to do much by then. Things would get so much out of control that even if I managed to kill everyone (which I wasn't very willing to do), there'd still be severe repercussions. So I wasn't choosing that road. Of course, I knew that this plan wasn't going to end up with everyone happily drinking tea and eating fresh pancakes either. I was probably the first who'd suffer. But I really believed that it was the best plan.

Takuma was very subdued the whole time, anxiously staring at Kaname's back as we walked to the main office's building. Takuma was more perceptive than I thought he'd be. He knew this matter was out of his league, so he maintained his position as third party. Worried and confused, I was sure he was probably feeling left out.

I still hadn't cleared up the whole 'stop avoiding me' subject with Kaien, so I was a bit nervous as we got closer and closer to his door. I was sure Kaname was thinking Kaien was going to strongly oppose this idea, which would end up either terminating this matter or giving Kaname a huge deal of control over me. But Kaname didn't know Kaien like I did.

"Enter." Kaien called out from behind the doors after I knocked.

As we got in, he adjusted his glasses and stood up. "I see you've found her, Kaname-kun, Takuma-kun."

"Yes, we did. As you said, she was around the house." Kaname replied courteously.

"I see, I was right huh?" Kaien had not met my gaze ever since I entered the room. But that wasn't going to last.

"Kai-chan." I said in a voice that Kaien knew he wasn't supposed to ignore. He had no choice but to look at me. "I am leaving the mansion."

Bizarrely, he didn't seem too surprised. Leaning against his desk, Kaien looked at me seriously. "And where are you going, Katsumi-chan?"

"I am going to be Kaname's bodyguard. This way, I will be able to improve on my martial arts training and I'll be useful as well." Pretty quick and bare explanation, I know. But the use of extra words was never really needed in our conversations. Kaien had the same look he'd had on the day I first met him. He was no longer avoiding me. Instead, he was gazing deep down my soul, scrutinising everything. He probably already knew what I was going to do. He probably didn't like it. But even before entering this office, I knew that Kaien would not refuse this idea. It might seem a bit… cold of him. But Kaien had never treated me like a princess to protect. I'd miss him lots, but I knew and he did too, that he'd let me go if I asked him to.

So he smiled, sadly but genuinely, and said, "Don't be too hard on them, ok? I still have work to finish, so I can't see you off. But I'll see you next time, alright, Katsumi-chan?"

I softened my until now sharp and determined eyes and smiled at him too, "Yeah, see you next time, Kai-chan."

Then I turned around and strode out of the room with a backhand wave, "By the way, I'll be taking the platinum card in the left drawer of your room!"

After a pause, I could hear Kaien's slightly strained reply, "….I trust you to spend judiciously."

* * *

 **AN: I know, I know. The Katsumi part in this chapter was a bit rough. I'm sorry for that. But I hope you liked the Kaien POV. He's a bit complicated, and I'm sure a lot fo you are going to say: "Why doesn't he treat her like his daughter?! Stupid Kaien!"**  
 **And I agree with you, he is stupid for that. But, I think he must have sensed the whole mixture of adult woman+ high vampire energy + past memories in Katsumi, which led him to not treat her as he would a normal child.**

 **Anyways, I'll be really glad to hear your views and to answer any questions you have, so please review!**

 **Ps: Things will get really entertaining from now on, so look forward to it!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: ….**

 **…**

 **H-How are you, my lovely readers? Missed me?**

 ***Gets virtual shoe tossed to the head.***

 **I'm really sorry this update took sooooo long to get out! But I was busy, and getting the characters to perform correctly was a pain! As an apology, this chapter is, well, very long. I will stop the AN now, since I'm sure everyone is more interested in reading the story than reading my excuses. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight.**

* * *

Chapter 8

The best plan. That was the best plan. Winning over Kaname: Success. Getting Kaien's approval: Success. The rest: IMPENDING DOOM!

 _Die too-depressed-to-think-clearly Katsumi! DIE! What am I supposed to do now?! How am I going to get out of this utterly messed up situation?!_

Everything went smoothly in the car. Half of the way I spent staring out the window in dramatic sadness of leaving the mansion. The other half I spent trying to appease Takuma, who suddenly started yelling at me for doing something so reckless. From the moment we left Kaien's office, Takuma's face had been blank… in shock, probably. He remained in that state for some time in the car as well. Then, as if he was electrocuted, he pointed at me and asked in a loud voice, "Are you STUPID?!"

The smoothly running car stopped briefly at the interruption before continuing.

I blinked. Takuma didn't usually point at people and shout. Even Kaname was surprised. I watched as Takuma's expression slowly darkened into anger until he started trembling slightly.

He lowered his voice and continued. "This is not a joke, Katsumi. Do you even know what you are going to do now? Do you even know anything about us? About me and Kaname-kun? About what we are? Do you even realise what danger you are putting yourself in? You are a kid. WE are kids. We won't be able to protect you!" He was panting for breath at this point, leaning towards me, eyes burning with fury. That was my first time seeing the angry Takuma. And I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't a bit scary.

"T-Taku-chan-"

"Takuma. Calm down." Kaname interrupted, arms crossed in his trademark posture. "We can't have our transportation disintegrating into powder."

(AN: Takuma's vampire power: manipulating matter at a molecular level. Lol)

Yep. Definitely scary.

Takuma slumped back into his seat, all the energy leaving him in a breath. "Yeah. I know."

Blinking again, I couldn't prevent myself from admiring his level of control. Having vampire energy myself, I understood how hard it was to even maintain control. The fact that he didn't accidentally destroy things or kill people was a real feat. Maybe that was why he fought with a Katana, unlike the other Night Class members…

"But you do have a point, Takuma." Kaname added after some time, making both me Takuma and me focus on him. "It really is too dangerous to bring her there. We shouldn't have even entertained the idea. Yoshida-san", he called out to the driver. "We are turning back to the Cross Estate."

"My apologies, Yoshida-san." I immediately added. "If you move, I'm knocking you out."

"Kaname-sama?"

"Stop the car." Kaname ordered. Yoshida complied.

"Takuma." I began calmly. "I am perfectly aware of every danger that I am going to face by taking this decision. And don't worry, I can take care of myself."

Forgetting his calm again, Takuma roared back at me. "No you don't and no you can't! You don't know my grandfather! He will make you wish you were dead instead of being there!"

"Takuma-" Kaname attempted to calm him down again. But Takuma wasn't listening and this wasn't good.

"No Kaname! She doesn't understand! She'll be eaten alive and tortured and, seriously Katsumi WHY DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

"Taku-chan." I cupped his face in my hands softly and directed his angry green eyes towards my own violet ones. "I'll be fine. I am strong. I know what I am doing. I won't be eaten, I won't be tortured and I won't die. I will live a very long life and I'll bug you so much you'll want me to die already so you can have peace. And even then, I won't die."

Takuma stared at me for a few seconds. Then he abruptly teared up. "Really?"

I smiled. "Really."

"You won't die?"

"I won't die."

"Promise?" _How cute!_

"Yes. I promise."

And of course, one can always count on him to ruin the moment, Kaname coughed. "Ahem, so?"

I sat back in my seat as Takuma wiped his eyes dry. "What you guys said is true. This will be very dangerous and I am, undeniably, still a kid. If I were a normal child, I'd be going straight towards my death. But as I am sure that you both know, I am not a normal child. I will make sure to keep those promises I made to Takuma, so please do not underestimate me."

Yoshida-san revved the engine back up five seconds later.

* * *

Yes, that was the 'all went smoothly in the car' part.

Haha.

Remember when I said that Kaien was rich and that the estate was big? Yeah well I wasn't sure what fraction to use to compare it to the Ichijo Estate.

We passed three gates in total on a very long (very beautiful) forest-lined road, winding around two gorgeous fountains lined with gleaming statues of gods before finally crossing into the driveway to the main house. And, as usual, house is waaaay too modest a word to describe these oversized shelters. Gigantic castle was more appropriate for Ichijo's house. There was a valet waiting for us at the entrance, opening the car's door the instant it came to a full stop. Outside, a string of servants and attendants were lined up, awaiting orders. To my Yakuza-fan-side's disappointment, they didn't yell out "Welcome home, Bocchan!" as Takuma and Kaname walked to the door. Tsk.

Instead, it was like watching a very restrained version of the interaction between the Night-class and the Day-class fangirls at dusk. Takuma smiled good-heartedly at the maids and the manservants and Kaname walked forth like the grand-master he was. Some things never change. As for me, I was still busy staring wide-eyed at everything, so before I knew it someone relieved me from the suitcases in my hands. Truly efficient.

A very tall and dignified butler (or door-handler) (mid-twenties, black hair, black eyes, very handsome) held the door open for us and once inside, we were attacked by a slightly overweight woman who I assumed, through her clothes and posture, was the housekeeper.

"Takuma-sama! You are late! You should have already been getting ready for the night!"

While she talked and harassed Takuma, the door handler/butler took my jacket off, leaving me with my summer T-shirt and pants. We were in a huge, _huge_ , _HUGE_ entrance hall. The floor was carpeted with an expensive looking, deep red woven mat with intricate golden designs. The walls were embossed with a light golden damask pattern. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, illuminating the hall with a soft pearly hue. Two winding carved staircases expanded on both sides of the hall, meeting up on the platform leading to the first floor. Between them, facing the front door, a dark green corridor lined with huge portraits and busts invited visitors ominously. On the hall's side walls, beyond the staircases, lay two closed doors, probably for servants, but I wouldn't know, and I wasn't going to ask as well, since I was still a bit frozen.

"Oh my, who might you be, little girl?" The housekeeper asked when she noticed me looking around the place. "Is she a friend of yours, Takuma-sama?"

Takuma suddenly straightened and answered in a clipped voice, "Yes. She will be living here from now on as Kaname-kun's bodyguard. Take good care of her, Reiko-san."

Reiko seemed startled for a bit, then she looked at Takuma sternly and almost whispered, "Takuma-sama. She is human. You do realise what is going to happen, right?"

A wave of uneasiness invaded me as I watched Takuma flinch away from this nice looking lady as if she were showing him a nightmare. Kaname put a hand on Takuma's shoulder and stood in front of him. "Nothing of the sort is going to happen to her, Reiko-san. She is here as a prospective bodyguard, so we'll follow through the procedures for that position, and that position only. Is that alright?" Kaname smiled at the end, but everyone present could recognise the 'Is that alright?' as a disguised 'Is that clear?'.

A look of disapproval settled on Reiko-san's face, but she still bowed her head and complied. "As you wish, Kuran-sama." She glanced at me, then gestured to the butler. "Wakamatsu-san. Please guide her to the 3rd floor's library. The Master should still be there."

At the word 'Master', Takuma and I both looked up at her in disbelief. Takuma attempted to voice out his complaints, but he was instantly shut down by Reiko-san.

"You should know, Young Master, that your grandfather always oversees prospective employees himself, more so if they human."

"This way, Miss." The butler gestured politely with his white gloved hand.

"I am doing her a favour because you said she's your friend, Takuma-sama. If not, she'd be sent to the 5th meeting room, no questions asked."

This new development somehow succeeded in ripping me out of my bewildered state. I looked questioningly at Takuma and Kaname. Both did not meet my eyes.

"Wakamatsu-san."

"Miss?" The butler prompted.

… _get a grip, Katsumi. This place could be your deathbed if you continue to space out. You made a promise already… so stop your sissy act._

I stepped out from between Takuma and Kaname to follow the butler. As I passed him, I could hear Takuma's breath hitch, as if this was the last time he was seeing me alive. I could turn around and look back, it would create a perfectly dramatic moment, just the way I liked them. I didn't do it though. I didn't want to. Instead, I did a backhanded wave. Dramatic as well, but hey- how could I completely escape it at this point?

"Remember the promise, Young Master. See you in a bit." Then I followed the butler, and we disappeared behind one of the doors flanking the vaulting staircases.

* * *

Remember me venting about a 'messed up situation' at the beginning of this chapter? Yes, this was now.

I was riding a luxury elevator with the butler (the stairs were mainly for decoration, lol) and I was seconds away from meeting the FUCKING DANGEROUS ASATO ICHIJO! Hah! And I have to get out of this meeting alive! Talk about me making some pretty hardcore promises.

 _I freaked out already, so I have about three seconds to calm down. One, two, three-_

Ok.

 _This man is very twisted, no doubt. But he's not the worst. If I play my cards right, I could even get some advantage out of this. What do I know about Ichio? He likes money, he likes power, he has a great beard, very fashionable as well, he wants the influence which comes with associating with purebloods and he loves his grandson Takuma. Hmm. I can use that last part, but it won't be enough. Come on, think… Asato, Asato, Asato…_

*Ting*

We got off the elevator, walking down another corridor.

 _Very rich, he possesses most of the business in the human world. Head of the Vampire Council, very influential, has a lot of authority. I can't be a kid in front of someone like this. I have to be careful. A powerful businessman, I know how to deal with that. I have years of experience._

The butler, Wakamatsu-san, opened a huge carved door, just enough for us to pass through. Behind were rows of heavy book shelves, arranged in a labyrinthine way as if to warn people from venturing inside. Sophisticated armchairs and couches were placed strategically and sometimes, as we wandered further inside the room, I saw small booths of tables and chairs to accommodate people who might want to have a tea party right in the middle of a maze of books.

Then Wakamatsu-san stopped in front of me and touched my shoulder to indicate I wait there. He walked into one of the larger booths, an open space encircled by bookshelves, and spoke in a very respectful tone. "Master, we have a prospective employee set up for immediate evaluation."

"Was it Reiko?" I heard a deep voice enquire.

"Yes Master."

"Then I hope this one will last longer than the last one she sent. Bring them in."

Calm down. Remember who you are, remember the three golden rules: never show weakness, never show disrespect and always be one or a few steps ahead.

I entered the lounge when Wakamatsu-san called me and there stood the most intimidating man I had met in both of my lives. Asato Ichijo, face severe and eyes so sharp they could cut. I had no doubt that they probably would.

In my last life, I would have gone straight to my possible employer to shake hands. Here, I did an 80 degree bow (because 90 would somehow degrade me) and introduced myself in a calm, level voice, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ichijo-sama. I am Katsumi Cross and I wish to work as Kuran Kaname-sama's bodyguard."

Predictably, Ichio completely ignored me and addressed Wakamatsu-san instead. "Tell Reiko that her joke was much unappreciated. You know where to throw this one."

I lifted from my bowing position and spoke as Ichijo turned to continue browsing through the bookshelves. "If I may, Ichijo-sama, are the nine other people present in this room your servants?"

I waited for that small head movement indicating I had his attention and I continued immediately, tone still cold and professional. "Or would you like me to remove these nuisances so you can continue your reading in complete peace and silence?"

I gave him a few seconds to answer, during which I mentally patted myself on the back for succeeding in the first stage of what I was starting to treat as an interview. I noticed these hidden people when we were moving through the bookshelves and confirmed their number when Wakamatsu left me behind to talk to Ichio. Since I was constantly controlling my vampire energy, I could somehow detect it when people with vampire energies were around, especially if they were close by, as in, in the same room. So identifying those who I guessed were Ichio's personal ninja bodyguards wasn't very difficult. However, there was a certain risk in using this information. By pointing them out so easily, I have insulted Ichio's ninjas and, to a certain extent, I have questioned his choice of employees. But there was a way to neutralise that risk. I'd be doomed if I didn't have my people analysis skills.

Ichio turned around and eyed me with a serious expression. He still did not speak to me, but to Wakamatsu instead. "Where did Reiko find her?"

"The miss arrived ten minutes ago with the Young Master. It seems they are acquaintances."

"Hmm." Finally deciding to address me, Ichio asked, "Did you say Cross? Is your father that hunter who opened a school recently?"

"Indeed Sir. Kaien Cross is my adoptive father."

"Did he send you here?"

"No, I offered my services to Kuran-sama myself and he accepted. I did ask for permission from my father before leaving though."

"Is that so?" He seemed to contemplate something for a few seconds, and I had a feeling that things were going to get harder for me from here.

"Say, little girl," he took two steps forward and stared down at me with an almost amused expression. "Are you spy sent by the hunter's association?"

Not good. This could turn bloody. Stay calm.

"With all due respect, Ichijo-sama, but if I were a spy, I would not enter through the front door."

"That is not a very convincing reason."

"If you were in any need to be convinced, I would no doubt already be dead." I said, maintaining my level and cool expression. Inside, however, I was shaking. I was struggling to not play in his game, but if this continued, my clear plan to get hired and to promote happiness in this messed-up world would be prematurely decapitated! (Because yes, my plan has a head!)

But instead of fetching the guillotine, Ichio, well, laughed.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Now don't let your imagination run wild. He did not grab his stomach or anything like that. Ichio laughed yes, but in a dignified manner. "Very interesting! Yes, you are actually right. I do not suspect you as a spy. You do not have that feel. Instead, you seem weirdly like a grown woman in a small body who is very confident about her job. Perhaps are you even friends with Kaname-kun and you want to protect him."

...

...

This must be why he interviews every employee personally.

"Either way, you seem like the dangerous type of little girl, so let me say this before we proceed. Even if you are offering your services as Kaname-kun's bodyguard, the one you will be working for is me. I believe you are intelligent enough to realise by yourself what will happen if you ever betray me." The man warned, eyes gaining a sadistic glint at the prospect of violence.

"Of course, Ichijo-sama. I would never intentionally bring harm to your prosperity. I understand that the Ichijo business has flourished so successfully because of your extraordinary leading capabilities and because of the loyalty of each and every one of your highly qualified employees. Confidentiality is an oath that I am ready to take upon joining your workforce." Heseemed almost pleased, but I was not yet finished. "However, I cannot promise loyalty to you, Ichijo-sama."

I watched as his expression darkened back to being very serious and intimidating. "Why so?"

"I wish to preserve my freedom and I do not want to lie to you about my standing. I have no intentions of betraying you, Ichijo-sama, but I have a pride that I cannot crush. I do not mind if you employ me as an independent contractor, but I cannot swear loyalty to a master who is not myself."

"Your proposition is absurd. I thought you were a sensible young person, but it seems you are dim-witted enough to take me for a fool. Tell me yourself, child," He bent down slightly and looked right into my eyes, with a gaze that threatened to engulf any opposition. "Why would I hire someone who would not swear loyalty to me?"

Do not gulp. Reply.

"Because I swear to protect your grandson from everything and everyone who will try to harm him. I will protect him from himself if I have to, and nobody else but I can do this."

His eyes widened just a fraction and his jaw flexed minutely. I would have missed the movements if I hadn't been staring at him so intently. He then straightened, shoulders just slightly stiff, "Oh really? And how will you protect him if you can't even protect yourself?"

Right at the instant he finished his question, a knife came flying at my shoulder at a speed high enough to slice through the air with a _shing_ sound. I dodged it by dropping to the ground, but it was a last minute survival instinct which had kicked in. I hadn't been prepared for an attack at all, since things had been going rather well (meaning without any death threats) until now. _Th-thank you Kaien for those countless dodging exercises._

"Oh, so you are not completely useless?" Ichio commented.

"Please do not underestimate me, Ichijo-sama." I said, barely preventing my voice from shaking as I stood up from my kneeling position. "I wouldn't dare present myself as a bodyguard without having some concrete skills."

"Then you should be able to handle my nine 'nuisances', as you called them. You so boldly offered to get rid of them earlier. You wouldn't be scared now, would you, little girl?"

I looked at Ichio in the eyes again. This is a test, and rule number one is imperative. Never show weakness. "Of course not, Ichijo-sama."

He sat down on one of the arm chairs and crossed one of his legs onto the other, as if settling down to enjoy a show.

Wakamatsu bowed before excusing himself. "I will go tell the maids to prepare some cleaning utilities right away."

Ichio waved him off with a slightly lazy motion. "Yes, do so. I would hate it if the blood were to stain."

I called out before Wakamatsu could exit the lounge. "That will not be necessary, Wakamatsu-san. What kind of bodyguard would I be if I were not able to refrain from spilling blood onto my employer's precious carpet?" I rolled my arms to loosen them. "Unless you were talking about my blood, which would me feel terribly offended, Ichijo-sama."

Ichio smiled, making the already tense atmosphere in the library turn icy cold. "Stay then, Wakamatsu. If she turns out to be wrong, she'll just have to wipe it off herself. If she's still alive, that is."

I smiled too, leaking some killing intent into the air. It wasn't anything magical, even a normal human could do it. It was just conveying the idea that you were dangerous in some sense. It worked wonders even in my last life. "Whenever your men are ready, Sir."

And a storm of nine ninjas raged through the library.

Even though it seemed like I was bragging and bluffing, I was pretty confident about this evaluation. I knew exactly where the nine guards were. Two behind me, three behind the huge old bookshelf, three in movement around me and one on the ceiling. All grown-up and all vampires.

The attack began with a flurry of projectiles, of course. Knives, arrows, darts and sharp paper cranes (paper cranes?!) came flying at me. I dodged, swirling to the side and anticipated the black-clothed man who launched himself towards me for a tackle. Seriously, a tackle on a child? I dodged again and kicked him on the stomach. He went flying against the bookshelf the other three ninjas were hidden behind. One managed to run from behind it, the other two got crushed under the heavy volumes of Geographical Encyclopaedias. If I moved around, they couldn't send more projectiles since they would risk hurting their master. The guy on the ceiling wouldn't be hindered by this though. He had full mobility, and since I sucked at shooting things, I'd have to deal with him last.

I climbed the fallen bookshelf, grabbing one of the thinner, though still heavily bound books on my way, and ran along the shelf tops towards one of the ninjas. I used the book to block a knife from the ceiling nin and threw it right afterwards at an attacker coming from my east. It hit him in the neck (I had aimed for the head) and he fell right in front of the Ichijo grandpa. Once I reached the guy I was targeting, he already had a mini sword out. As he swung, I slid in between his feet, grabbing one on the way. I twisted his ankle and he let go of his knife as he fell to the floor. Next. A two fold attack, one in front and one behind. Wasn't going to be as easy as letting them both collide with each other. I waited for them to close in and I grabbed the arm of the guy coming from the front just in time to use it to block a projectile from ceiling nin. All of them were wearing metal arm braces, so he wasn't hurt, but he lost his balance since I pulled hard. Using the pulling momentum, I kneed him in the gut once he was at my level and swept the floor with his body to trip the one coming from behind. He jumped, so it didn't work. Now my hands were full of the guy on the floor and there was an attacker who had managed to close in way too much. On top of that, another ninja was coming at me from the west. Ah shit. I let go of the unconscious man and jumped on the close attacker's face. Vision suddenly blocked, he was startled and made to grab me and throw me down. But I pressed a pressure point in his neck right before he could snatch me off and he fell limply right away. Not wanting to be crushed under his dead weight, I jumped off, just in time to throw a kick at west attacker's jaw and send him K.O.

I landed and turned around. Now all that was left-

I dropped to my knees and bent back until my head touched the ground. The knife flew right over my nose, missing me by a few millimetres. But ouch, my back hurt like hell from this move.

 _Damn you, ceiling nin._ I got back up slowly to prevent anything from cracking in my body. I couldn't even have fathomed such flexibility in my past life.

"You lasted out much longer than I thought you would." Ichio said from his seat. Chuckling, he continued, "But unfortunately for you, this is the end. Raphael is my main guard, and he is the best fighter amongst all of my security department. A small kid such as yourself, despite the prowess you've shown until now, would never be able to defeat him."

… _well that's a bummer._ He didn't need to brag so much about it, I already knew ceiling nin was the real deal. The others were small fries capable of going down with a mere book in the neck. This one though, the look in his eyes (sexy golden eyes at that) was calmly feral and his gait was as lithe as, as a predator getting ready to pounce on his prey! Ah shit, if he'd only been toying with me all this time, by shooting projectiles right at moments when I could actually deflect or avoid them, then I was doomed.

"But," Ichio resumed, "since you've been very entertaining up until now, I will permit you a handicap."

HUH?! A favour?! From ICHIO?!

"You don't have to completely defeat Raphael." Lifting up one finger, he sneered in a way which confirmed my doubts about him doing me a favour. "One hit. If you land one hit on him, I will acknowledge you right away. I will even go along with your demands for freedom. But if you collapse before that, or, as you so confidently said earlier, if you dirty my library with your blood, I will still take you. But you'll be undergoing severe training and under my conditions. What do you say?"

"… you deal is extremely tempting, Ichijo-sama. My conditions against yours, all decided by one hit? It seems to me gambling is one of your personal pleasures."

Ichio smiled. "Indeed, as is disciplining disobedient little children. So I take it that you agree?"

I smiled, letting some vampire energy loose to fuel more violence into my release of killing intent. "Why, I would have to be a fool to turn away from such a luxurious bait."

"Heh, no holding back, Raphael." And as ordered, Raphael did not hold back.

I was flung against a bookshelf the instant Ichio finished his sentence. Heavy dictionaries crashed around me as I took in this man's speed. No joke. This was no joke. Time to be serious. Flinging a book at him, which he dodged, I dove right back into the fight. I couldn't reach him since he was tall though, so I had to work around the legs. But the man, Raphael, danced around my tripping attempts like a graceful ballerina. Even Kaien wasn't as flexible as this man! Then he kicked me on the stomach like I was a football. I skidded on the floor, coming to a stop as I knocked against the body of one of the small fry nins.

 _Heheh. Heheheh._ I got up, wiping the spit that escaped my mouth because of the hit (thankfully, it wasn't blood). I watched as he slid two knives out of his pockets, flexed his fingers around them and came running at me.

I had to get a hit on. I had to get a hit on. One hit. That was all I needed. Get a grip, Katsumi. Rule number one: never show weakness. Breathe in. Relax your legs. Let him close in. Closer. Closer. Let him swing. Now make them regret.

I let my hands slide along his as his blades came nearer to my body. Then I twisted his wrists at the same time, making him let go of the weapons. Yanking on his twisted hands, I brought him closer to me and HELL YEAH THAT WAS ONE NICE HEAD BUTT!

Letting go, I staggered back and fell into a sitting position. I was seeing triples and… yeah, I think I just got myself a concussion.

Raphael was frozen in place and didn't budge. I heard laughing in the background, and could only assume that it was Ichio, since my head hurt too much to look up right then.

Big hands grabbed my shoulders and lifted me into a standing position. "I am very impressed, girl! You did extremely well!"

 _Let go of me, I feel sick._

"She got you good Raphael!" He lolled while slapping the man on the back. Turning me towards him, he squeezed my shoulders. "For such a brilliant talent such as yourself, I am willing to accept any conditions. Tell me, what do you want, girl?"

 _I want to throw up._

"I-" I wanted to say we'll talk about the conditions later, but I had a feeling that if I didn't finalise things right then and there, the deal I worked so hard for would be automatically off. So I swallowed my saliva and did my best to will the nausea away. "I want to be a free employee. Meaning that I work under my own conditions and for who I want to. Of course, you have my word that I won't betray you, Ichijo-sama." _No more!_

"I have heard you loud and clear, Cross. You are the first person that I am giving this much privilege to as an employee, but exploring new grounds is also one of my 'personal pleasures'. So welcome to my household, Katsumi Cross." He then slapped me on the shoulder and I had to put my hands on my mouth to hold back from throwing up. When I didn't reply to his welcome, Ichio grabbed my face and turned it towards himself. He spoke out again while examining my features, "Employment issues aside, you are sure to bloom into a beauty in some years." He smiled again, "With that sharp attitude and those looks, you'll most probably turn into the type of woman that I like the most. Heh, I will look forward to it."

I couldn't keep it in any longer. When that last comment passed, I vomited right onto Asato Ichijo's leather shoes.

It wasn't blood, so I couldn't care less.

* * *

 _Ah, that feels better._

I gulped down the remaining sweet water that Reiko had handed to me.

After I got sick in the library, Wakamatsu the Super-Butler clicked his fingers and two maids appeared, immediately starting to clean the mess. Ichio had not moved for some time after I delivered my lunch on his shoes, probably frozen in disbelief. Before he could say "Off with her head", Wakamatsu grabbed me, strode out of the library, and brought me right back to Reiko, which was how I was currently drinking sweet water to relieve my nausea.

I could feel my head getting better already. Must be the vampire energy doing its thing. Wakamatsu explained everything to Reiko while I drank, and she was eyeing me with a strange sort of awe the entire time. I gave the glass back to her and stood up carefully from the chair I had been sitting on.

"Feeling better?" Reiko asked, smiling gently. A nice change from the woman who promptly sent a child to almost certain death earlier. If I hadn't been me, she'd be in the top ten of my growing list of cruel people. But I was me, and things went a lot better than I expected them to, so I could forgive her for now.

"Yes, I'll be going now, Reiko-san."

She stopped me when I tried to approach the door.

"And where might you be going, young lady? You are hurt and sweaty. You should be taking a bath and resting. Come, I'll take you to your assigned room." She grabbed my hand and began dragging me to another door. I shook her off.

"I apologize, Reiko-san, but I am not one of the children that you have to look after. As Wakamatsu-san told you, I am from now on an independent employee, assigned as Kaname-sama and Takuma-sama's bodyguard. I appreciate you fawning over me, but I will do what I have to and what I want to. Right now, I have to return to the young masters, so if you would excuse me." Now I forgive her altogether. Lol.

Surprisingly, she didn't counter me or cuss behind my back. Instead, I heard her sigh and complain lightly to Wakamatsu that I was "yet another difficult person to care for".

Involuntarily, I could feel my lips twitching into a smile.

Once outside of the kitchen area, I increased my walking speed and- decreased it right away.

 _I forgot to ask her where I could find the boys…_

It was dangerous to wander around this castle on my own like this, and I strode out of there so coolly too. I can't go back now and ask, I'd seem like a complete idiot!

"Anything troubling you, Miss?" a voice asked politely from behind me.

Turning around, I saw that it was none other than Mr. Wakamatsu. "W-would you please guide me to where the young masters are, Wakamatsu-san?" The shame.

Smiling, he walked in front of me and led the way, "Of course. But do go to your room to refresh and rest right after. It would do no good to have an unfit bodyguard now, would it?"

"I suppose not." I sighed. "I will go."

"Wonderful. I hope to get along well with you from now on, Miss Cross."

… _huh? Get along? Does that mean we'll be working together?_ "Wakamatsu-san, aren't you a butler?"

"In some ways I am one. Since the people that our Master hires are all incredibly talented, we fulfil several roles. Apart from being a butler, I am also in charge of the everyday welfare of the Mansion's employees. I make sure that every employee in the Mansion is fed, clothed and has everything they need." We passed through several corridors and took an elevator, leaving the slightly more 'modest' kitchen area for the luxurious upper floors. "Reiko-san is my superior. Her job is to take care of the Masters and to make sure that all employees are doing their job right. While every department has their own supervisors, every employee living on the Estate falls under the care of the Household department. So if you have anything you need, please ask me." Stopping in front of a door, Wakamatsu turned to me and said, "We have arrived. This is Takuma-sama's room. I shall wait for you outside."

"Ok. Thank you for informing me about the workings of the mansion." I said, knocking on the door.

"Oh this was merely an overview. We will go into details later. For now-"

Wakamatsu was interrupted by the door which was flung open to reveal a very flustered Takuma.

I smiled, waving slightly. The boy must have been really worried. It's probably sadistic of me, but his worrying made me somehow happy. It sometimes made me want to see him suffer some more. But not right now. I wasn't silly enough to push my luck even more on my first night in his house, not with Wakamatsu watching right beside, duh. So instead of cracking the usual joke, I apologized.

"Sorry for making you worry, Taku-cha-"

And my waifu engulfed me in a hug before I could even finish my sentence. Because yes, I had just decided that Takuma was my waifu. Objections anyone?

Since Takuma was a bit taller than me, his hug had me hanging a little in his arms, the tips of my toes barely brushing the floor. I patted his head in an attempt to reassure him that I was alright, because I was certain that whatever words I wanted to say were just going to get interrupted by someone else.

"…you idiot…" he mumbled against my neck.

I chuckled. "You're the idiot for worrying about the great me." Then after a few seconds, "…It tickles, Taku-chan."

"So unromantic you are, Miss." Wakamatsu commented.

"Shut up, Waka-san. Come on, let go Taku-chan, or else blame yourself if weird rumours spread."

"Huh?" Takuma loosened his hold slightly and I steadied myself on my feet.

"Seems like you were keeping your touchy-feely side a secret from me. Not that I didn't know already, with how bubbly you are sometimes when you aren't stubbornly wearing your Young Master mask."

"T-that's not true!" Takuma countered indignantly, letting go of me completely, face cutely tomato red. Then just as suddenly, he calmed down and frowned. "More importantly, you say you're alright, but what are these bruises? And your clothes and hair are all messy! What did they do to you, Katsumi?!"

"It was just an evaluation, Takuma. Relax. More importantly, is that your room?" I leaned sideways to peek through, but it was dark inside, so I couldn't see much.

"Why are you avoiding the subject? Why would my room be more important than your injuries?!"

I let out a breath and looked at him in the eyes. I was supposed to feel really relieved that I had passed Ichio's test, that I could be here safely, but it hadn't really kicked in yet. Outwardly I was relaxed, playful, all sorts of calm. Inside, my senses were refusing from subsiding. I was still on my guards, and however much I wanted to dispel this inner tension, it wasn't going away. I had repeated the idea that I was safe, that I wasn't being attacked anymore, a thousand times in my head once I got out of the library, I had chanted it like a mantra. But my body wouldn't let go, not even when Wakamatsu caught up to me, not even with Takuma in front of me. The amount of control it had taken for me to not move away from Takuma's hug earlier, despite cracking jokes about him being a waifu, was tremendous. So I couldn't care less about my injuries at that moment. Even if it was dark, even if it was only for a few seconds, I needed a place where my body could persuade itself that it was safe. "Taku-chan, I-"

"Did you succeed, Katsumi-kun?"

And as I predicted, I was interrupted. Again. Kaname was walking down the corridor towards us, asking a surprisingly (lol) stupid question. I quirked an eyebrow and waited for him to stop once he was near enough to answer. "Guess?"

Before Kaname could reply, however, Wakamatsu pushed on my shoulders hard enough that I fell to my knees. He followed too, kneeling on one leg before Kaname's figure. "My apologies for this child's rudeness, Kuran-sama. She is new, so she is not aware of the rules. If possible, please be lenient in the punishment."

… I would have freaked out if I hadn't just remembered that Kaname was a pureblood and that purebloods were almost like gods to normal vampires. Still, bowing my head in respect to Kanama… good thing I had just dealt with Ichio about 20 mins ago. My self-esteem was still in employee mode, so it helped me to not snap.

"A punishment won't be necessary. She is a friend. You can get up."

We stood back up again and I dusted my pants. Making sure to smile so the wave of discomfort touched every present person, I replied to Kaname's initial question. "That is correct, _Kuran-sama_. I must say that I passed Ichijo-sama's evaluation with _flying colours_ and that I will soon take up my duties as your _bodyguard_. So if you would please _excuse me_ , I wish to have some friendly chat with our common acquaintance with blond hair and green eyes."

There were several seconds of silence before Takuma spoke, "W-well you wanted see my room, right Katsumi? I'll show you. Do you want to come too, Kaname-kun?"

Kaname shook his head once. "I will pass. Since you have been accepted, I will see you tomorrow for some formalities, Katsumi-kun."

I smiled again. "But of course, _Kuran-sama_."

Kaname opened his mouth to say something, then seemed to decide otherwise and simply nodded. He then left from the corridor he had come from. _What did you expect after making me kneel, jerk?_

I sighed and turned back to Takuma, smiling. "Do you have any-"

"Takuma-sama! It is time for your dance lessons. Please do not tally!"

 _Why, interruption? Why can't you let me have a peaceful talk?!_

Reiko was striding down the corridor towards us, an almost angry scowl on her chubby face. "And why did you send away the maids? They need to help you get ready and- Oh my, why are you still here, Katsumi-chan?"

"I- "

"I'm sorry Reiko-san. Please tell the group to cancel the lesson today. I want to show Katsumi around, since she's new."

Reiko's face twitched a little, probably to reprimand. "That is not your job, Takuma-sama! Please keep in mind that you are the Ichijo family's heir! Even if you sneak out sometimes to play, you absolutely cannot skip out on your lessons!"

… _Oh yes. Takuma is an heir. Haha, had forgotten about that after playing with him so much. He probably has a lot of work to do. … I am just being a nuisance._

Takuma opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off with a wave of my hand. "Reiko-san is right, Taku- I mean, Young Master. You shouldn't skip your lessons. Wakamatsu-san is here! He'll show me around. And don't worry. The worst is over, so I will be fine. I will see you again tomorrow night, ok?" It's alright. I will manage. Go.

He stared at me for a few seconds. Then his usually bright, sparkling green eyes dulled and his face turned expressionless, as if he had suddenly transformed into a lifeless doll. "Very well, I understand. I will leave you in Wakamatsu-san's care." To Reiko-san, he said, "Tell the group to wait for a few more minutes. I will be ready soon." When the head-maid left, Takuma got inside his room and began closing the door.

"W-wait."

… _Did I just, did I just make Takuma wear a mask in front of me? It had taken death threats to remove that mask when we first met, why did he… now… he had never shown me that expression again after that first time. So why now?_

"If you have nothing to say, please excuse me. I am busy right now." Takuma said, shutting the door with a final click.

"But-"

"We should go, Miss. The Young Master is indeed very busy, so we'll come again tomorrow night. Is that alright?" Wakamatsu, the angel of butlers, said, gently steering me away from Takuma's door.

Looking back one last time towards his room, I reluctantly agreed to Wakamatsu's suggestion. "…Yes. Then will you accompany me tomorrow as well?"

"I will, since you don't know your way around the mansion yet. Please do not worry about the Young Master. He must also be very tired after all that has happened in the last hours."

I sighed. "I suppose you're right."

I heard Wakamatsu chuckle softly before speaking again. "I will show you to your quarters. Make sure to rest for tonight. Tomorrow will be rather heavy since I will be explaining how things work in detail. Oh, and even though it is common sense around here, you might not know, so I will remind you. Vampires are nocturnal beings. It goes without saying that you will have to adjust to working nightly hours in order to perform your duties. For that reason, please do your best to rest tonight."

"Ok, I understand. Umm-" I will sleep. But, do my best? Isn't that a weird way of phrasing it?

"I am sorry, Miss." Wakamatsu's tone, which was previously light but still professional, turned somewhat cold. He was walking in front with his back facing me, so I couldn't see his face. "Since you are such a young human, you might have a rough time living on this estate, where most of the employees are vampires. I unfortunately cannot offer you much protection. While I am not supposed to say this, I still wish to give you some advice, if you will take it, of course."

"… Please do so."

"Do not sleep at night."

…so weird! "But you just told me to do my best to rest, Wakamatsu-san." I'd gone through physical and emotional injuries tonight! I wasn't in the mood for deciphering the meaning behind the self-contradictory claims of a man I had just recently met!

"Resting should not be equalled to sleeping, Miss. If you lose your senses at night in this place, you might wake up to an extremely unpleasant and dangerous scene. I cannot go into further details about this warning because of my own restrained position, so please understand."

"…Ah." I huffed, finally getting it. "You mean that mosquitoes might bite if I'm not careful right? Don't worry about me, Wakamatsu-san."

"Oh, I don't worry." I blinked, startled. Now this was a fairly frank statement that I wasn't used to getting. He looked down at me and smiled. "You are strong, Miss. So I'm sure you'll do just fine."

… _This guy, Wakamatsu, is not so bad as a co-worker. The world needs more such people who believe in the power of my awesomeness! Yeah, I like this guy_!

Meanwhile, through our mood-changing conversation, we had left the posh section of the mansion, had passed through the kitchen area, had gone through a small back door in the mansion and had reached a smaller section of the castle, which was still connected to the main building through a hallway, but which lacked the excessive touch of luxury. The servants' quarters. Oh, even if I said smaller, the building wasn't actually small. It was around half the size of the Sun Dorms back at home.

Speaking of which, this would be my first night away from home ever since Kaien adopted me. A bit distantly, I wondered how Kaien was doing. He had probably put Yuki to sleep already and was now crying in his office alone, grumbling about his cute daughter leaving him for two younger guys. Hah, I was probably spot on! I would have lolled with grandeur if I hadn't been feeling down for leaving him alone. But this was necessary, and- Oh, we'd gone through all this talk already! Back to the present scenery!

The inside of the employee's lodge was, well, actually pretty nice! The décor seemed similar to that of a hotel, not too high class, but not too shabby either. Long corridors lined with doors which probably led to personal rooms or suites and a hall on the ground floor which probably served as a mess for the employees. Wakamatsu climbed two sets of stairs, crossed two long corridors and rounded three corners before stopping in front of a door. It didn't have a number on. Instead, there was the picture of a maple leaf beautifully engraved into the wood.

"This will be your room from now on. This corridor is occupied by employees in the security department. They are on duty right now, so do introduce yourself to them when you meet. Your luggage has already been placed inside and this is your key." He handed me a single metallic key with a tiny maple leaf engraving. "Is there anything else you need, Miss?"

… Yes, no, I don't know? Even if I am an adult woman in a kid's body, even if I am super badass and even if I act like I don't need anyone to help sometimes, I am still a kid right now! Don't get me wrong. I really appreciate the fact that Wakamatsu is treating me with respect and like someone who can be responsible for herself. But what do I do if I can't reach the shower handle? If something I need is too high for me to reach? If I have nightmares about bloody clowns trying to lure me with candy? Are these people seriously going to let a six year-old kid live by herself in a room?

Answer: YES. You even made such a fuss about being a free employee earlier, SO DEAL WITH IT, BRAT.

I smiled, "No, this will be all, Wakamatsu-san. Thank you for your help."

"My pleasure, Miss." Wakamatsu left after a slight bow, leaving me to discover my new room on my own.

 _Why did he bow though? It's not like he's lower than me. I'm an employee too, a new one on top of that. …People here are so weird…_

The room inside was quite nice. It was like a mini apartment. A clean bed by a window with a nice view on one of the back gardens, a fairly spacious cupboard in the corner with a simple table and chair set beside, probably for paperwork. A door which led to a bathroom-toilet combo, this too designed simply. There was even a bathtub! The only thing missing was decoration and my personal touch, which I'd take care of another day (or night).

As soon as I finished exploring, I locked my front door, grabbed a towel from my bag and dragged myself to the bathroom to take a quick shower (which I could thankfully reach on my own!). I changed and flomped on the bed straight away, not waiting for my hair to dry. It wasn't like I'd get a cold anyways, what with my vampire energy constantly playing doctor with my body. I was tired though, and I the sensation of un-safety returned with a vengeance since I was alone with my thoughts again. It was mostly discomfort due to being in an unknown place, but with Wakamatsu's earlier warning and my own inner wariness, my muscles weren't going to relax anytime soon.

I sighed. The moon was beautiful tonight. Staring at its light which bathed the ceiling with a clear silver, I felt several pangs resonating in my chest. I let them fade one after the other, dipping my whole body into the deep and heavy waters of some unknown emotion that surfaced occasionally when I found myself alone. My eyes closed, but I did not sleep. I watched the darkness move, entangling some its shadowy strands with the lingering blur of moonlight. Losing myself slowly to the enticing depths of this new form of meditation, I fell into a static dream before I knew it.

And the night was over in less than a second.

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 **AN: Some development there, huh? Asato and some interesting new OCs there, huh? Even a glimpse of _~romance~_ there, huh? TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! THROW OUT THE REVIEWS! …Please.**

 **I know this is going to come up, so I will clear this up right here. You might have thought that Katsumi was a bit emotionally messed up in this chapter, that her moods were unstable and that her thoughts were somewhat contradictory. This was because of all the things that happened one after the other, putting her in a very confused state. Acts as an adult, is an adult, wants to be trusted and treated as an adult, but also wants to be cherished as a kid sometimes. It's all jumbled up in her head, so please be patient with her.**

 **That's all for this time! Thanks for reading, and look forward to the next chapter! (Though I can't guarantee when it'll come out.)**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Good Morning/Evening/Night/Day/Whatever to you, my dear readers! I tried my best to get out this chapter as quickly as I could to make up for the long wait last time, so I hope you'll like it!**

 **Another thing I wanted to say: Even if I can't reply to you, I want all the guests who reviewed to know that I read all of what you have written and that I really appreciate your thoughts concerning this story! I'm really happy that you like Phantom Flames, so I hope that you can continue to read, review and enjoy the story! Same goes to all those who followed and/or favorited this fic! Cookies, love and potatoes to everyone! (Offered by a character who won't appear much in this story: Zero-kyun.)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight.**

* * *

Chapter 9

So. Bored.

These were my sincere sentiments concerning my second day in the Ichijo House. Note well that I said 'second _day'_ because the night was a different matter, which would come later. Anyways, I woke up to the sun shining annoyingly on my face, feeling like shit just like every morning in both of my lives. I quickly took in the unfamiliar setting, remembered about last night and jumped up from bed. I rushed with getting ready, brushed my teeth, pulled on my clothes and stuck my little feet in my little shoes, all in a matter of five minutes. I didn't bother with my hair because, well, I just never bothered with my hair. It was long, blond and a pain to wash but I had short hair in my past life and I wanted long this time, so I wasn't going to cut it. Besides I fought just fine with long hair as well. But that wasn't important right then because, in my head, I was so late for my first day of work!

So of course, when I banged my door open, barged out of my room, ran as quickly as I could towards the common area only to find the place completely empty, I was kind of disappointed. I blinked, twice, looked out a window at birds chirping happily as they welcomed this peaceful sunny day and I went like "Ahah! I am such a baka!". I dragged my feet back to my room accompanied by shameful silence. It was just like me to forget about the whole 'vampires don't work in the morning' thing in my rush. I locked the door behind me, took off my shoes and let myself fall face first back on my undone bed. Since I was so small, only my face hit the mattress while the rest of my body slid down the bed's frame. Lame.

I stayed in that position until my stomach began grumbling, signalling to me that I was human and that I needed to eat human food to stay alive. That's right. It didn't matter that nobody was awake yet, I had things that needed to be done. So I got back up, ate the snacks that I'd snatched from the kitchen back home and readied myself for the activities of the day. …Which consisted of unpacking my small luggage as slowly as possible and drafting a list about things I needed to buy once I had access to the public world again. The list went a bit like this:

 _Things I need to buy:_

 _-Snacks_

 _-Stuff to decorate the room_

 _-Underwear_

 _-Shampoo_

 _-Traps to secure the room_

 _-More snacks_

 _-Hair ties_

 _-Weapon handling books_

 _Etc…_

I was done with doing these random things at snail pace by 2 p.m, leaving me plenty of time to be even more B.O.R.E.D! Hm. Might as well do some training in case I get a surprise 'evaluation' again like last night. So I meditated and did training exercises for the rest of the afternoon until I got uncomfortable and went to take a shower. I was barely done changing when there was a knock on my door.

"Miss? This is Wakamatsu. I've come to get you as I said I would yesterday. Are you ready yet?"

Oh please, don't blame me for almost jumping on the poor guy when I banged the door open for the second time that day. But no, I restrained myself and only showed him my full teeth smile with closed eyes.

After greeting him with much enthusiasm, we set off on something similar to an orientation. We passed several people in the corridors, some lounging in their pyjamas, others bustling around in their maid costu- I mean, maid uniforms. Almost all of them were vampires and they gawked at me as I walked past them. Wakamatsu paid them no mind and never stopped in his very detailed, very long explanation about how things worked in the mansion.

"The Masters, Mistresses and guests usually wake up at 5 p.m, earliest. The first shift of staff therefore has to wake up at 4 p.m to start preparing for the night. Nobody is allowed to enter the Masters' rooms until the employees' bells are rung in the kitchen. The only exception is for the Masters' personal bodyguards, who are instructed to stay by the masters' sides 24 hours a day. Some Masters have several personal bodyguards who work on a shift system. Others have only one. For information, you are not a personal bodyguard yet. Normal bodyguards work normal shifts, from 7 p.m to 4 a.m, or on shifts as requested by their respective Masters. The younger masters such as Takuma-sama and Kuran-sama sometimes wake up earlier and therefore require more flexible working hours for bodyguards. Further information about schedule will be provided to you by your Master."

"… My Master who is Ka- umm, Kuran-sama, I suppose?" I asked after taking a few seconds to absorb the information.

"Technically yes. But you might be requested to work for some other masters as well, depending on the demand and the need. Of course, as an independent employee, you will most probably be free to accept or refuse. Moving on, as I showed you yesterday, this is the common area where the employees lounge. Activities are sometimes organised here to promote socialising. The door at the back of the lounge leads to the dining area, where employees consume their daily intake of blood. I do not advise to go inside, though it is well maintained."

Staring at the door as I climbed down the stairs, I nodded, "Understood. But it's really surprising to see so many facilities available for the employees. My room was great as well."

"The master believes in the wellbeing of employees for better productivity and prosperity." Wakamatsu guided me out of the servants' quarters. Considering his nonchalant tone, I was certain there was a heavy 'but' to that statement. Wakamatsu had made it clear last night that he would not elaborate on the dark sides of this mansion and the people residing in it, so I wasn't going to ask him the price to pay for such 'good treatment'. I was glad I had made my standing clear last night (independent employee). It spared me some of this unknown bullshit.

"On our right, you'll find the greenhouse where we grow rare and fragile plants, used for both medicinal and cooking purposes. On our left, behind the tree row, the vegetable garden. If you squint past the garden, you might see a natural barrage made of vines. Beyond this barrage are the hunting grounds which I would advise you to never visit unless your profession requires you to. Speaking of work, I have already ordered the specific uniforms in your size. You will receive them by tomorrow evening. Any questions so far?"

"Yes, umm, there are tons of plants and I saw the busy kitchen area yesterday, but… do vampires even consume anything aside from blood?" I asked cautiously, whispering almost.

"Of course we do. Blood is a vital component to our survival, but limiting ourselves to it would make us no less than those vicious level Es. The Masters in particular extremely enjoy human food and fine cuisine. Our chefs sometimes experiment with recipes and have some specialities which include the supplement of blood in the food they prepare."

Wow… I had indeed seen Takuma eat cake in the anime before but I didn't know that they enjoyed food to the extent of consuming it everyday. On the other hand, they were vampires who lived for centuries, so they had to find things they enjoyed so as not to die of boredom. Lol! ( _Pay no heed to this unfunny joke._ )

"Anything else before we move to the castle's tour, Miss?"

"Well… Wakamatsu-san? For my uniform…, how did you get the measurements?"

Wakamatsu's smooth strides were interrupted by a startled pause before he resumed his walk more briskly. "Please rest assured, Miss. It was simply a matter of observation. As a butler working for the Ichijo family, I am supposed to be skilled in various… fields."

Wanting to tease him a bit, I frowned and put my hand on my chin in a thinking manner. "Kai-chan told me to stay away from suspicious people. Maybe I should tell Takuma about this…?"

Wakamatsu turned to face me, eyes slightly wide with distress. "I am not a suspicious person! And please don't tell Takuma-sama any- Wait. Might you be joking, Miss?"

I scoffed, "Totally am. Relax, Waka-san. I'm just praising your very unusual talents. Oh, can I call you 'Waka-san'?"

Wakamatsu's shoulders sagged in relief and he let out a long sigh before straightening back into his dignified posture. "I will allow it outside of business situations. Any other relevant questions?"

I thought for a second and shook my head.

"Very well. Moving on…" Wakamatsu gave me a very informative visit of the mansion. He didn't go everywhere, of course. Just like with the garden, he pointed out some places in passing where I was advised not to wander too much. These places included the Western Wing, which was the Master's aka Ichio's exclusive quarters, the basement(s) and the beautiful green corridor which faced the front door. I was especially curious about the last one, but Wakamatsu didn't elaborate much when I asked for details. He only said that it led to some secret rooms and some public rooms where the Master conducted some private and official affairs. Very vague. The Mansion was huge though, and there were a lot of places I was actually allowed to roam. The Eastern Wing, for instance, where Takuma and Kaname had their rooms. Wakamatsu gave me loads of information about that. Basically, Takuma and Kaname occupied a floor each. Takuma was on the second floor and Kaname was on the third, each had their sets of servants who attended to their needs. The Eastern Wing had its own library, dining hall, dancing hall and pretty balconies. There was also a main area apart from the Eastern and Western wings, found in the middle and commonly called The Prism. This was where the main grand hall (fancily called The Hall of Gods) was found, where balls were sometimes organised. The kitchen and the library which I visited yesterday were also found in the main middle area, which ended in a back door leading to the stunning Gardens of Delphi, which expanded over twelve gardens, each named after a zodiac and each more beautiful than the other. And that wasn't even the top of this rush of luxury! No, Wakamatsu mentioned as we went back to the kitchen area for my first meal in that day, in a tone as flat as if he were talking about the weather, that this Mansion, this whole Estate, was only the Ichijo family's SUMMER RESIDENCE! That they switched houses EVERY FUCKING SEASON! Let me forget I ever said that Kaien was extravagant with money. I mean, SUMMER RESI- _no._ _Calm, Katsumi. Come on, eat your cake and drink your tea. The night has only just begun._

After eating, Wakamatsu guided me through the corridors of the Kitchen area until we reached a spiralling set of stone staircases. "These are the emergency stairs." Wakamatsu explained as he climbed. "Employees usually use the elevators on the sides of the Mansion to move around, but as a bodyguard, you might be sometimes pressure to get somewhere more quickly. These stairs are present at various locations in the Mansion. There are also some hidden pathways, but I will let you discover those by yourself. Despite being very well maintained, this is an old castle, so you might really want to be careful when you explore around in your free time. I would originally have discouraged exploring as a whole, but it would be counterproductive to your job. So I will repeat once again, Miss. Please be very careful."

I rolled my eyes behind Wakamatsu. "You've told me to be careful for at least 30 times now, Waka-san. Don't worry so much, I'll be fiiiiiiine."

Wakamatsu reached the end of the staircase and opened a door which led to a narrow, dimly lit corridor. "I sure hope you will, Miss. Anyways, this corridor is a discreet passage for employees in a hurry. As you can see, there are several doors. Each open to a different place. This one for instance will open to the third floor's corridor." I followed as Wakamatsu opened it and went out. This tour was very interesting to me, though I was starting to get tired. It'd be totally awesome to play a game of hide-and-seek in this castle! Not that I could actually play though, since it was my workplace, and since my job was based on not losing sight of the person I was supposed to protect.

Wakamatsu waited for me to come out before closing the door and leading the way down the corridor again. I had no idea where he was going though. Who could blame me? It was impossible to keep a sense of direction with all the secret pathways, spiralling stairs, zigzagging corridors and endless doors in this mansion. "The tour is almost over, Miss." Wakamatsu said after we veered through some other – guess what? – _corridors_. "Please remember to not be disrespectful. I will be waiting outside. I have been assigned as your personal guide for today, so do not hesitate to take as long as you need."

Huh? "What are you talking about, Waka-san? I don't need to go to the toilet yet."

"Do not be so ridiculous, Miss." Wakamatsu reprimanded, stopping in front of a voluptuous pair of double doors. "We have arrived. These are Kuran-sama's quarters. Please proceed alone, I shall wait here."

I blinked. Kaname's place? But… oh. Right. Kaname was my 'Master'. _Yuck. Let's just stick with 'Boss'. So yeah, of course I have to meet my boss._

I nodded at Wakamatsu and opened the door. "Understood, Wakamatsu-san. I hope you won't be bored waiting."

"Do not worry, Miss." Wakamatsu smiled as he glanced down at me. "Damask wall viewing can be a legitimate hobby for the more patient ones."

"You're the best, Waka-san." I giggled, closing the door behind me. And he was, really. I had never met someone so… precise and effective, though he had a hidden girly side (much like my waifu).

Behind the doors was a relatively small hall (compared to the entrance hall), and five doors; two on each side and one in front. The floor was carpeted in the same red as the double doors and the walls were a warm brown. The lighting was of course a chandelier… I had seen so many of them in this castle that I was almost bored of chandeliers. _Haa, the woes of the common man, or rather, of the not-so-common girl._

Anyways, there was nobody in the hall and I wasn't going to go about exploring every room when I wasn't even sure I had the right to do that. "Hellooo?" I called out, wandering a bit towards the middle of the hall. "Kana- I mean, Kuran-sama?" I wasn't sure if there were other guys here apart from him, I didn't want to be brought down to my knees to apologize again. And after waiting for a few moments without reply, I was starting to wonder if even Kaname himself was present in his quarters. Maybe he had left already.

I sighed. Tough luck, I'd just come back some other time then. I turned around to walk back towards the door and-

"AAH!"

That was me.

Kaname was standing right in front of me, calm and cool as I stumbled backwards and put a hand to my chest to try to lower my heartbeat. Damn, the guy could be such a jumpscare…

"The fuck, Kaname?! Why'd you need to spook me out? Can't you just appear like a normal person?!" I asked as I glared at him in between taking deep breaths.

Kaname lifted one eyebrow at my reaction. "For information, Katsumi-kun, I am a not a normal person."

 _That is a massive understatement._

"Rather than that," Kaname continued, moving towards the second door on the left side of the hall, "I am glad that you are back to normal. You being formal to me was a bit uncomfortable."

I shrugged, following behind him, "What did you expect? I'm supposed to be calling you 'Master' from now on, which, don't even dream of me doing. 'Kuran-sama' is my limit already."

"Indeed." We entered an office sort of room, complete with the fireplace, paintings and the insufferable _chaaandeeeelieeeer_. Kaname settled down on one of the armchairs and gestured for me to do so as well on the one facing him. The armchair was huge. I was small. An embarrassing scene followed in which I struggled to lift my butt over the seat and ended up sliding completely towards the back, feet barely reaching the edge of the chair. Kaname watched it all with a calculative gaze, the creep.

"So?" I asked, once I was comfortable enough. "What will my duties be as your bodyguard?"

Kaname's head tilted slightly as he tried to pierce my pro smile with his ancestor eyes. "Do you really think I called you here to discuss these?"

I was sure I visibly stiffened as my eyes snapped up to him in attention. Shit shit shit! In all the jumble about getting accepted by Ichio and settling down in this place, I had completely forgotten about the real purpose of me leaving the mansion. And the tactics I used to convince this guy to bring me as well… SHIT! I wasn't prepared for this conversation! I was never prepared for conversations with Kaname! Why was that?!

"It seems you have already realised what I am talking about, so I will go straight to the point." Kaname did not glare at me, he did not scowl at me or anything, probably thinking that he shouldn't scare a kid. But there was that aura of pure darkness emanating from him that made me recoil for a second. Fighting ninjas who threw knives at me was fine. It was physical. I could survive that. But facing someone whose presence itself spelled power, and who could had so many magical, uncontrollable, _unfightable_ powers that could kill me in a second… I should have brought Wakamatsu with me, after all… at least to hold my hand…

"What are you up to, Katsumi-kun?"

"U-um, I-"

"Firstly you prevent Yuki from touching me, then you threaten me with Yuki's safety. Is Cross-san even aware of his daughter being so… unnaturally observant?" Kaname pushed on, making me flinch at the mention of Kaien. "I need these answers, Katsumi-kun. I can wait for as long as you need."

I stared at him. He held a relaxed posture, sitting on that armchair, legs crossed and with the back of his hand supporting his cheek in that air of royalty. He wasn't going to budge. He wasn't going to let me go, not if I continued acting so suspiciously. I closed my eyes and tried to remember the reason why I had chosen to do all this in the first place. This was an inevitable situation. _Think, Katsumi. You're an adult! Don't cower in front a kid, dammit!_

If I didn't play my cards well here, I was dooming everything I had ever worked for in this world. I leaked some of my own vampire energy into the air, allowing me to breathe through Kaname's pressure. I opened my eyes and levelled him with the same look I had given Ichio on the previous night, just with a lot less subordination. And I dropped the bomb of the century. "You have to stay away from Yuki-chan."

Do I even need to describe how the reigned-in dark aura he had been leaking out roared in full force for a second as his eyes narrowed? I don't think so. I did my best to not show weakness, once again, to stay impassive in front of his momentary rage. I clenched my teeth at the pressure and waited for him to calm down and ask the question I knew was coming. "What do you mean, Katsumi-kun?"

"I mean exactly what I said. She is five, and she was traumatised by that vampire. It would be best not to expose her to vampire things from now on. At all."

"That does not explain what you are doing here. Did you come to keep an eye on me? You are also six, Katsumi-kun, yet you speak like an adult. I have faith in Cross-san and I trust him with Yuki, but knowing his previous profession, I wouldn't put it past him to train his daughter to be a spy."

This guy was playing with me. Kaname was aware of my weakness, and he was trying to fucking manipulate me into giving in to him. _Oh god, such a bastard!_

I openly glared at him. "I would appreciate it if you didn't constantly use Kaien as subject to poke me with, _Kaname-san_."

"And I would prefer you stopped meddling in the way I handle my family, Katsumi-kun."

We stared each other down for some time. Seriously, he was pissing me off. He was scary as fuck, so I couldn't go bash his pretty little head against the arm rest of that armchair he was sitting on, but I could surely glare at him until our eyes teared up.

But Kaname let out a long sigh in the middle of our staring contest and rubbed his temples. I took this as my win. "This is pointless. What do you want, Katsumi-kun? What exactly do you get out of this?"

"Oh, you can't figure it out on your own?" I scoffed. When he didn't react, I huffed, allowing myself to relax a bit. He wasn't going to harm me. He said it himself, Kaien was important to his plans and I was important to Kaien. Besides, right now, we were both in the same boat. "I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to become your bodyguard, Kaname. I only wish to protect the people who are close to Kaien so that he can be happy. That includes you and Yuki. You can rest assured that I want only her best."

"Though not for her sake." Kaname commented tiredly.

"As if you can talk. All of us are being selfish with our desires here, Kaname. But sacrifices will need to be made along the way."

"I am already paying by staying far from her for her protection. Meeting her from time to time is my only pleasure."

"And you already know that that has to stop. From what you told us about her seal, it'll only work if she is kept away from all this vampire stuff. Do you really want to snatch her away from that peace after your mother gave her life away?"

"How can you be so sure that she won't be happy by my side?"

"Because you're a stupid prick who will only end up forcing his feelings on her."

Kaname's eye twitched as he looked at me suspiciously. "And how do you know so much about me? To my knowledge, this is the first time we are having a long conversation, Katsumi-kun."

"It's as you said. I am unnaturally observant." I replied, trying not to outwardly reflect the stress I was feeling inside. What else was I supposed to say to this? That I had come from a world where his story was a manga/anime? That I was a friendly stalker? This had been a ping-pong match of arguments and I would be damned if I didn't respond in time.

"Why am I even taking the time to discuss such things with a child who can't even sit properly?" he muttered, sighing again as he covered his face with his right hand.

"Hey! It's not my fault I'm small!"

He looked at me from between his fingers and I could almost feel that he was evaluating me. Again. He was probably weighing my arguments against his, trying to see what turned out most favourably for him. He couldn't let me go just like this. I knew about lots of his secrets, I had vaguely guessed his plan, and I had shown him that I could somehow predict his actions. But he also knew my overall purpose. We were at a standstill until one of us tried a new move.

And I wasn't letting him take the first step. "Listen, Kaname. Whatever our reasons, we both want Yuki to be safe. Why don't you work with me on this? You could use some allies in this game you're playing."

Kaname did not budge, both physically and in terms of our discussion. He remained motionless and silent, making me very uncomfortable in the seconds which followed my 'proposition for truce'. I began to fidget after the first 15 seconds passed, and by the 30th second, I couldn't keep stoic. I threw my hands up in the air and was about to yell at him to give me some reaction when he, well, gave me some reaction.

"Alright. I accept your help." Kaname said, removing his hand from his face.

… _What? Is this a trap? How can this be so easy?_

I frowned. "Are you just telling me this to cut the conversation short or something?"

"Absolutely not."

"Then how come you're agreeing so quickly?"

"While it is wise of you to expect some difficulties, you might want to keep those doubts to yourself. It might make your argument much less convincing."

 _Hah?_

"But I believe you."

Oh. "Kaname, are you serious?"

"Yes. You are not the only observant person around, Katsumi-kun. Unless I am judging you in a completely wrong light and you have a very unhealthy jealousy concerning Yuki and your father, you have nothing to win by hurting myself or my sister. And you are a genuine friend to Takuma. I will place my trust in you."

…wow. I felt myself flush with this… sudden development. I could have bet one of Kaien's cosplay costumes on this conversation ending totally badly but…

"Um, that's cool then. I'll hold you onto that statement. You can't back out now, alright?" I prompted, staring at him in the eyes. I was looking for that – that hint of something which will tell me the guy was lying, which will tell me not to trust. But there was none. I found myself trying to remember just what type of person Kaname was in the manga, just to confirm things. And while he had practically murdered Zero's parents, had manipulated the hell out of most of the characters, had planned coups and what not, Kaname's primary aim had always been Yuki. So there was a big possibility of him saying the truth. But… was I okay trusting this person? This ancestor in a child's body who could be no less than an obsessed lover of his sister? I bit my lip, waiting for an answer, both to my question to Kaname and to my question to myself.

"I don't make empty promises, Katsumi-kun. In fact, I don't usually make them. This is only the third time."

My interest perked up. "Oh? Can I ask what they were?"

Kaname almost shrugged, "The first time was when I promised my mother to look after Yuki and to protect her. The second was with Takuma. And the third is with you. I therefore hope that you will not question my sincerity so much."

I mentally rolled my eyes. I wasn't going to trust him completely as well. The instant I let him, Kaname wouldn't hesitate to make a puppet out of me. But just for now, I'll play along with him. I sighed out in relief, smiling up at him. "Ok then, I will believe you as well. I will help you keep Yuki safe and happy in the best way I can."

Kaname nodded. "I will leave that to you, Katsumi-kun."

* * *

After that, Kaname actually drilled me on the work I'd be doing as a bodyguard. I was to meet his fellow guards later that night, to discuss schedule. All in all, he didn't expect much of me, just some following him around like the other guards did. He also mentioned that I would be guarding Takuma as well. An order from Ichio, he said, couldn't really refuse since he was the big boss. Not that I didn't want to guard Takuma, but, you know, mixing work and friends didn't always turn out for the best, so I was a bit reluctant. By the time his serious talk was over, I was really itching to leave that huge armchair. I actually jumped out when he said it was time to leave and I had to restrain myself from hugging the angel of a butler that was Wakamatsu, who was waiting for me outside along with a couple of maids. As I came out, they entered, shuffling a trolley alongside.

Wakamatsu didn't ask for what happened inside, but I still whined to him about the armchair and the pain-in-the-ass chandelier. We climbed on another elevator and went down a floor. I didn't even have to ask the butler where we were going this time; Takuma was a long awaited stop for night after all.

It was almost the same setting as last night. Wakamatsu stood beside me like a stoic statue while I knocked on the door. Except, this time, no emotional Takuma came flying into my arms. Trash that, there was no reply at all. I glanced questioningly at Wakamatsu, who motioned with his eyes (the talent of this man!) to try once again. I did, and there was still nothing. So I tried calling for him, but the 'Ta' died into my throat as the door was gently opened by a beautiful brown haired maid.

"Is anything the matter? Takuma-sama is currently changing." The maid said in a monotone voice, blocking further entrance to the door with her body.

"Um, I am Taku- I mean, the Young Master's friend. I was supposed to visit, um-" Damn the woman was intimidating.

"I am sorry. I was not informed about this visit. I cannot let you in." She made a movement to close the door.

"Wait!" I grabbed onto the door, panicking slightly. What did she mean she hadn't heard about me visiting? Did Takuma not tell her? And why was she so adamant about closing the door so quickly? "Please tell him I came. He'll tell you to let me in, I'm sure." I wasn't really sure, actually… His mood had changed so drastically last night.

"I will do so. But the Young Master is quite busy. I cannot guarantee that he will have enough free time to talk to you. Since you seem to not have much work on your hands, I suggest you assemble with the other free maids when he performs for his dance classes later." The maid tried to close the door on me again.

 _So rude! At least wait for me to finish!_ "I am not a maid! I am his friend! Why would I wait in his, his _dance classes_?!"

The maid swished her legs at where my hands gripped the door's edge, making me let go. "Please stop lying. What are you, if not the child of one of the maids in the mansion? Be good and do as I say if you wish to have a chance to say a few words to the Young Master. Otherwise, I will have to get the security to show you some discipline, little girl."

" _But I am the security!_ " I yelled at her as she closed the door further. It was only a click away now.

"Is there a problem?" a male voice asked from behind the door. Too deep, not Takuma.

The maid turned to him and I used this chance to stick my finger in between the doors (because these were double doors, by the way) and pushed in an attempt to increase the gap. "Oh nothing, it's just a kid saying she wants to meet the Young Master. I don't know how she managed to get here." The gap widened and I stuck my foot in.

"Is that so?" I heard the man shift for a bit, probably to get a look at the 'problem child' outside. Then I heard a gasp and I looked up. "Cross-san?"

"Wha- Yoshida-san? What are you doing in Takuma's room?"

"What are you doing _outside_ his room?" he asked as the maid glanced wide-eyed at us.

"Aren't you a driver, Yoshida-san?"

"No, I am Takuma-sama's bodyguard. I do also drive the Young Master to places he has to go to though." He replied, smiling and not seeming to care that we were conversing via a gap in the doors.

"Is that so? Could have fooled me." I commented, remembering how easy it was to knock him out the first time I met Takuma. Yoshida-san probably remembered it too, because he flushed slightly (so cute on a man in his late thirties).

Meanwhile, the maid loosened her grip on the door as she turned to Yoshida-san. "Should I let her in, Yoshida-san?" she asked hesitantly.

Yoshida recovered and gestured for her to let go of the door. "Yes, I think it will be fine to let her in. She is indeed Takuma-sama's friend."

The bodyguard opened the door wider to let me in, but I retracted my foot. Maybe it was better if… "Can you let Takuma know that I came first, please? I wouldn't want to intrude on his privacy…"

Yoshida smiled down at me and went to do just that while I waited. The maid scoffed and left right after Yoshida, mumbling something that sounded like 'waste of time'. Couldn't really blame her. Even I felt weird about this… formality and distance that I had to keep from Takuma. He was my friend, granted we didn't talk much about hearty stuff, but I liked to believe that we were close to each other. He did smile naturally in my presence after all. … At least he used to. _Haaaa, what happened so suddenly yesterday that made him react like that?_

When Yoshida returned, his smile was a lot less natural and a sinking feeling engulfed me as I realised that my friend was probably refusing to see me.

"But don't worry about it, Cross-san. I think the Young Master is just a bit shy about showing his room to his friend." Yoshida said, fidgeting in barely concealed discomfort.

I sighed. "It's fine, Yoshida-san." Glancing towards Wakamatsu, who on a side note hadn't made any move to help me during my struggle with the door, I asked, "Say, Wakamatsu-san. Is there anything I was supposed to do after this?"

"Not really. After meeting with the Young Master, I was supposed to lead you back to the Kitchen area, where you would have dinner. After that, I would return to my duties for the night, unless you have some other places you want me to guide you to."

"Oh no, no more visits. If there's nothing important after this, then there's no point to further waste your time by staying with me, Wakamatsu-san. I will wait here for Takuma until he comes out of his room. I want to talk to him, after all. I don't know how long it'll take, so I can't really tell you to wait with me."

Wakamatsu unscotched himself from the wall and nodded his head. "Very well, Miss. I trust you not to get lost. If there's anything you need, you can come find me, or leave a message in the box I showed you earlier – the one in the common area in the employee's lodging."

"Will do, thanks." I said. Wakamatsu left without saying another word and I turned back to Yoshida-san. "Could you let Takuma know that I will be waiting here for him? Tell him to take his time though."

Yoshida glanced down at me nervously. "Are you sure Miss? You could force your way inside the room, you know? I wouldn't be able to stop you if you were serious."

Despite my sullen mood, I couldn't help guffawing at Yoshida's joke. But instead of following his advice, I grinned up at him and gave him a thumbs up. "Nah, I'll be fine waiting. But you're one of the best, Yoshida-san. It'll be a pleasure to work with you from now on."

"The pleasure is all mine, Cross-san." Yoshida smiled and made a move to shut the door.

After he was gone and I was alone in the corridor, I glanced around for a placed to sit. I spotted one not too far away, mid-distance from Takuma's door and the next turn in the corridor. I walked up to the small rectangular luxury edition stool and sat down. There was a huge window behind me, the kind that rose in a high rectangle and ended in a Celtic style design at the top, basically the kind you could find in castles. The curtains were drawn and it was rather dark outside. The view spanned over the front garden and the Alley of Fountains, prettily illuminated by the soft glow coming from tall, Victorian style lampposts. It was beautiful and it made a shiver run through my arms. It was finally sinking in. I was realising that I had embarked on an adventure, where I worked in a castle and could see views like this on a daily basis. I was in a world of vampires and power and luxury… things that I couldn't even fathom or come close to in my previous life. …What if this was all a dream? What if I were to wake up suddenly, in my old bed, staring at my old ceiling, not wanting to get up? What if I had to wake up and realise that nothing of this was real? Of course, the thought of seeing my old family again was nice and all… but would it really matter if this wasn't real to begin with? And… I had died. I had genuinely died. Amongst everything, that was the truest truth. I had gone through the Darkness before, and that hadn't been a dream.

 _Then this isn't a dream as well. Everything is real._

I sighed, resting my head against the lowermost window rail. Now if only Takuma's brooding could be a dream…

As if called telepathically, Takuma burst out from the door down the corridor, clad in very heavy and expensive looking princely clothes, complete with the leggings. He turned left, then right, spotted me, made an angry looking face and strode over to where I was seated, a fancy white feather boa trailing behind him, as well as a string of flustered maids. He paid them no mind and came right up to my face.

Though I tried to act cool by launching a calm "'Sup, Young Master?" at him, I was in fact very nervous. What if he was really angry? God, what would I do if he told me to leave and to never see him again?!

"What are you doing here, Katsumi-chan?!" he yell-whined, a slight blush on his face. "I told them to tell you to go, so why did you say you were going to wait instead?!"

And yep, there it was, him telling me to leave. Ah shit, this sucked. I tried not to let it show on my face, but my hands clenched nonetheless. _Nothing else I can do though, if he's so against my presence that he has to yell at me like this._ I stood up from the stool and smiled at him. "I just thought that you were too busy to see me. So I was waiting, but if you tell me to leave, I can." I turned around and was just going to walk out like a cool person, but the diehard dramatic part of me couldn't resist saying this. "It was nice being you're friend, Takuma." _There goes my first friendship in this world… and to say I had even made him my waifu… the heart pain…_

"What in the world are you talking about? And why are being so moody?"

… _huh?_ "What do you mean?" I asked, turning around again. If he was joking with me, he was going to get a kick to the shin. "I'm leaving, just like you asked me to."

Takuma flinched back at my tone, which, I agree, was quite harsh. "I-I just didn't expect you to do as I said…" Then his face darkened, just like it had the last night. "So you really changed, huh?"

 _Ok. This needs to stop._

I was going to yell at him, but then something caught my eye. The maids behind Takuma were looking at us very expectantly. Seriously, this wasn't a spectacle! We didn't need an audience to do 'oohs' and 'aahs' as we made things clear. So I bit back what I had to say for now, grabbed Takuma's hand and tugged. "Come with me for a sec."

I ran down the corridor while dragging a silent Takuma, turning around one corner, stopping behind a flower pot to see the servants rush past, no doubt in search of their Young Master, then I went off in the opposite direction. I opened a small door, pushed Takuma inside and closed it. The room was a tiny storage for brooms and mops, but it would have to do.

I turned to Takuma. "Okay Takuma. Tell me everything about what is troubling you."

Takuma blinked at me, still a bit moody. "It's not really something I can say…"

"Come on, at least try to. I get the feeling that we're both stuck in a very unpleasant misunderstanding, and I hate that. If something can get better by being honest, then by all means let's be honest. Can you, Taku-chan?" I stared up at him in the best version of puppy eyes I could muster. They really weren't my thing, puppy eyes I mean, but it seemed to work tremendously well on the boy. He averted his eyes, blushed, glanced at me again, then sighed, doubtlessly defeated. I'd really have to hone this wonderful weapon for further use. I wondered if it'd work on Kaname when the time came to dissuade him from luring Zero's parents in a death trap.

But right now, focus on Takuma, who sat down in a flomp, rubbing his eyes and mumbled undiscernibly about something involving the word 'Master'.

"I didn't hear that, can you say it again?"

Two seconds of silence later, Takuma lifted his head from his hands and spoke again, eyes avoiding me completely. "…Don't call me 'Young Master'."

… "So you were angry last night because I called you 'Young Master'?"

Takuma replied without looking at me again, head resting against his bent knees as he stared at the nice collection of brooms in the closet. His right hand was absentmindedly busy playing with a strand of blond hair as he acted cool. "Yes."

 _Oh, well that's dandy. …_

 _AS IF!_

I slapped Takuma's hand away, grabbed the strand of hair and _pulled_.

"O-Ouch! That hurts, Katsumi-chan!"

"You think you have the right to complain, servant?" I looked at him the same way I had on that first night when I had threatened him into becoming my friend (or not, but that was the goal). In other words, I was leaking killing intent and I had no doubt my purple eyes were glinting almost predatorily. "How dare you reject me because of such a pathetic reason?"

Takuma knew of my sadistic streak which surfaced sometimes when we played and he was used to me suddenly insulting him. That was my way of showing love and I think he was vaguely aware of that. But he still resigned under my threat most times, either to humour me, or because he was genuinely scared. This time though, his eyes flashed with hurt when I finished my second sentence. He unwrapped my gripping fingers from his hair and straightened from his sitting position. "It's not a pathetic reason."

"But _everyone_ calls you that! It's not that big of a deal!" I was barely able to resist pulling my own hair out from disbelief and frustration.

"It is a big deal! I knew it! You should never have come to work here, Katsumi-chan! You'll just end up becoming like a normal employee in the castle, keeping your distance from me or trying to get on my good side! You already showed signs of changing by calling me 'Young Master'! I don't need another person like that! I-" there his voice faltered slightly and turned a bit softer than his angry tone, "I liked it when you were my friend, Katsumi-chan…"

Oh the cutie.

I waited a little while for him to calm down a bit before saying, "Sooo, if I get it well, you are scared that you'll lose me because I will, according to you, gradually grow distant and respectful and all that shit?"

I waited for him to nod slowly before I continued, "So you want me to continue bossing you around, play hide-and-seek with you and, more importantly, disregarding any work and hierarchical etiquette, you want me to lovingly call you 'Taku-chan'?"

He nodded before sputtering out a mixture of "No-yes-n-ye, I don't know!"

"Oh come on, _Taku-chan_. You have to decide yourself already." I teased, relaxing against a shelf, contemplating the surprisingly childish reason which ended up worrying me so much.

Takuma looked less at ease, thinking hard as I looked at my nails. Then he pouted, realising that I was messing with him. "So mean, Katsumi-chan."

I shrugged, "You're the one who started it." I straightened, looking at him seriously again. "Listen, Takuma. I won't change. I don't know if I'll still be able to play with you, maybe we can try when I'll be guarding you and you won't be busy, but I won't distance myself from you. I'll still call you 'Taku-chan' as much as I can and I will still bully you sometimes. Then I'll still apologize by giving you cake I stole from the kitchen. So you don't have to worry and put on a mask in front of me, ok?"

Takuma looked a bit overwhelmed at first, then he smiled genuinely for the first time since I entered this castle. I took that as a yes, and continued, "This doesn't explain why you didn't want to see me earlier though, since we had already agreed on meeting." I was mostly at ease now, thinking the worst was over. I was glad we had cleared things up. But then Takuma flinched, averting his eyes again and making me frown at his behaviour. "What?" I asked, making a move to corner him against the mops lest he chose to escape.

"Well…"

"What is it?" I prompted.

"I wasn't really planning on not meeting…" Takuma began timidly, his voice gradually decreasing in volume with each word. "Then the maids told me my father called a painter and that I had to dress up for it…"

I glanced down at him. Really, Takuma could be as shy as a girl in a stinky shoujo manga sometimes. He had his arms wrapped around his torso and his legs slightly bent. _Oh… so it was this._ This was why he was confused as to why I hadn't pointed it out earlier.

"The leggings, huh?"

Takuma made a face as if bracing himself for whatever insult or joke I was going to throw at him. Normally, I would throw insults and make fun of him. Really, I wouldn't let this chance to see him blush ten shades of red pass so easily, and I mean, leggings really were worth making fun of, especially if they were red. But I wasn't in the mood. And I'd already seen him blush so much today it was probably bad for his health. So I sighed, backed away from him and opened the door. "Let's go back. Your maids are probably going crazy by now."

"Wha- aren't you going to say anything? I mean, look at this overflowing boa!" Takuma held the feathery accessory up for more emphasis. I would have dismissed his suffering for the night, but I couldn't stop my burst of laughter when he wrapped the boa around his neck and made an effeminate gesture with the tail end of it.

I laughed until my eyes were stained with tears. By then, Takuma had gone from satisfied to embarrassed again. I sighed with glee and walked out of the closet, signalling for him to follow me. It was almost as if the kid enjoyed being bullied by me. It was an honour in its own way, I guessed. "Haaa, a painting, you said?" I chuckled. "Do you know how much I have to pay to get a copy, _Taku-chan_?"

The boy blushed and strode away back to his room in angry pouts after confirming that we were meeting the next night, at a slightly later time, for a game of Monopoly with Kaname in the game room of the Eastern Wing.

And that was how my hectic days in the Ichijo House began.

* * *

 **AN: Yeah, I know, the ending is a bit lame. I hope Takuma's fluttering drag-queen act made up for it.**

 **I thought about it, and I want you guys to give me more feedback about the story. For that, I have designed some nice questions that you can address by reviewing if you like this fic.**  
 ***Clears throat***  
 **1\. Though I already have things planned, who do you want Katsumi to be paired with in the future? (Kaien and other too old characters are not included).**  
 **2\. If you guys want me to write omakes about Katsumi and Kaien or the other characters, you can send me your suggestions and I will choose the ones I like and write short scenes about them. (not really a question, but meh.)**

 **That's all for this update! See you guys next time!**

 **PS: Possible Hanabusa attack in next chapter.**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Hi everyone…**

 **Yes…. I am very late… 4 months late to be exact.**

 **My sincerest apologies to all of you. I was really busy with work, life and other such distractions, on top of having a writer's block smack in the middle of this chapter. But it's here now, I'm here too. So I hope you will forgive my sins with this giant chapter. Love you all, and love all the readers who supported my laziness up until now!**

* * *

Chapter 10

After getting used to the way things worked in the Ichijo household, life was pretty easy and interesting for me. Well, I say that but it wasn't really possible to actually get used to living and working there in such a short time. Every time I thought that nothing could surprise me anymore, something fascinating, deadly or quirky happened. Like the time Takuma almost got sexually harassed by a female employee. Or the time when I got lost and accidentally witnessed Ichio sitting cross-legged in his living room, wearing pajamas and playing a dating simulation game. I stood there frozen for a good 5 minutes while the man, frozen too, stared at me and paled steadily. After a very, VERY, awkward conversation where I tried to avoid a death warrant and he explained how his main guard had confiscated his other games for the day, I ended up giving him tips on how to successfully date the sexy yandere. After I escaped while reassuring the man that I wouldn't speak of this to ANYONE and ANYTHING, I left the main house through a window (got directions from Ichio), found a fountain and proceeded to plunge my head in the water in disbelief. Yeah, that was one pretty traumatic experience which successfully shattered the remaining bias that I had concerning the people of this world. This wasn't the _Vampire Knight_ manga/anime anymore. The manga/anime's Ichio would never have been caught doing _that_ of all things! Unless Matsuri narrated it in her way and left out everything else, which included that. Yeah, that was a better explanation than the one where I was going crazy and fantasising about a centuries' old vampire overlord playing otome games in pyjamas. Anyways, I couldn't speak to Takuma for a whole two days for fear that I'd blurt things out. And whenever I crossed Ichio after _that_ in the corridors, we both avoided to look at each other in the eyes due to sheer embarrassment. That happened in the first few weeks of my stay, and now that one year had passed, I was sometimes invited to play with Ichio again, through a message sent by his personal guard (the one who beat the crap out of me for the evaluation two chapters ago). He did not wear pyjamas again in front of me though, so that was a plus, but it was still as awkward as ever.

Speaking of Ichio's personal guard, I got used to the ninjas over the year. I met them several times in the servants' quarters and, although they were a bit wary at first, we got along nicely after they saw how bad I was at throwing things. The way to friendship = manipulatively maintaining the ego of male counterparts. Well, it worked with the eight small fries. It was different with the lion-vampire-man, Ichio's main bodyguard, Raphael. With his gorgeous coffee skin, golden eyes and dark cloth wrapped around his head and face all the time, that man looked and felt like he'd come out straight from the era of the Crusades. After catching glimpses of him sometimes in the employees' dorm, I noticed that he was a generally aloof person. He constantly exuded an aura of danger which no doubt discouraged people from approaching him. To be honest, I stalked him whenever I had time in the first few months, secretly worshipping him as an honoured senpai (no, not in the 'notice me, senpai!' way, but close). I mean, he was so strong and so cool! He was like Kaien in battle-mode, but even better! He didn't say anything about my stalking at first, though I was sure he must have noticed. After the second month, he glared at me for two seconds, which led me to squeal like a fangirl and to stalk him even more. After the fourth month, when I was looking at him as he trained in the training centre of the Security Department, he sent a projectile at me, which led us to engage in playful combat. After that, we regularly trained together and I was finally able to start improving my fighting skills again!

But even though I was happy about resuming training, it couldn't compare to the times when I accompanied Kaname when he went to visit Yuki. I went as a bodyguard, of course, but that didn't stop me from leaping into Kaien's arms every time I saw him. If I didn't do it, he'd cry and engulf me instead, so our meetings always started with hugs and tears on his part. I was happy, really. I wasn't feeling suffocated by the plot, by being static or by Yuki anymore. Whenever I met with Kaien, we spent as long as we could chatting about useless stuff, sometimes about important stuff, but always in that carefree way we liked. He made me tea while I munched on much needed sweets and stuffed a huge box with as many cakes as I could so I could bring them back to the Ichio mansion. I'd then share one or two with Takuma and Kaname, but the rest were MINE!

By the way, I was getting along much better with Kaname than I originally thought I would. He actually listened to me! He didn't stay away from Yuki as I told him to, but he didn't say anything about vampires, he didn't show his fangs, he didn't try to drink her blood or things like that. I knew that Kaien had already told Yuki about vampires, but the information itself didn't seem to be having much effect on her now that her nightmares had lessened. More than anything else, Yuki needed to feel safe at the moment and Kaien was the best for that. (Heart squeeze at remembering when he used to take care of me as a toddler.) So yeah, if I made sure that she was never bitten by a vampire, or that she was never in contact with a vampire in the action of drinking blood, maybe, maybe things will be different. Maybe she'll have a better life this time around and Kaien will happily be able to be a dad until the end.

She warmed up to me too. Yuki, I mean. When I visited for the first time after I left the mansion, she clung to me (by which I mean that she held my arm and refused to let go, since we were around the same size) for a good five minutes after Kaien let me go. Even before I left, she came to me, gave me a bunch of flowers that she'd plucked out from one of Kaien's pots in front of the house and left without saying a word to hide behind Kaien. Needless to say that I internally squealed over her cuteness. I was glad though, maybe she was also seeing me as a person of safety. Strangely enough, even though she was only one year younger than me in this world, I couldn't see Yuki as a fellow child like I did with Takuma. She was a baby in my eyes, which made me want to hug the hell out of her, but I resisted. For the first two times. Then we were both giggling away in the imaginary prairies like I had dreamed of.

But dreaming aside, a year passed rather quickly in the Ichio household. Oh! Before I forget! I had a uniform, and I loved it! It was not a ninja outfit like Ichio's guards, nor was it a crisp-cut men-in-black suit like what Yoshida-san wore. It was a black mini-dress with a hoodie and tight pants, which came with a multi-compartment leather belt and black shoes which didn't hurt and made very little sound! Apparently, the stylist which made the uniforms for the employees was taken aback when she heard that she needed to make a bodyguard uniform for a six year old girl. I heard that the first outfit she proposed was a black Lolita dress, which was promptly rejected by my beloved Wakamatsu. She had to reluctantly go with a casual style so as not to restrict my movements. Since I had no real weapons, I used the belt to store my snacks and little objects like dice or strings to play with when I was on a boring duty.

Speaking of duty, I was pretty well paid for a job which was just about accompanying two kids while they did their activities. In one week, I only had to assist Yoshida-san with a pickpocket who tried to, well, pickpocket Takuma while he was out buying manga. Takuma went out quite often actually, as far as his limited free time allowed him to. Sometimes Kaname accompanied him, but most times he stayed at home reading boring classical literature. While Takuma had Yoshida-san as main bodyguard, Kaname had the guy who accompanied Yoshida when they went to visit Yuki, Mirai-san. But they didn't have a very close relationship. Kaname mostly kept to himself, just barely accepting the night protection Mirai-san was responsible for.

It didn't take long for me to notice that Kaname didn't treat the Ichijo house as a 'home'. He didn't wander around, he didn't converse with the staff, he didn't come out of his quarters except for the times he was required to. He had the restraint of a perpetually polite guest and he was close only to Takuma. And to me, but I didn't count. Being so unsociable could not be a good thing. It made me worried about the things going on in his head. Was he already planning things? Was he already manipulating people to do his bidding? I wasn't sure. What I knew was that all of this isolation was slowly pushing him further down a dark pit where his craving for Yuki steadily deepened. I wasn't the only one who noticed the early phase of his descent towards obsession, or evil. Although he was the person Kaname met with the least, Ichio came third in seeing through the darkness in his eyes (the first was Takuma, I was only the second since I had developed a distracting addiction to the manga of this world that Takuma gave me when Kaname began to show signs of his lonely angst). And since Ichio wanted to use Kaname to his fullest, he took action to try to convert the little pureblood into a more enjoyable being. This meant PARTY!

After eight months of boring patrol duty with barely a hint of danger around, I was finally going to do some REAL WORK! I was genuinely excited for it! And I wasn't alone, I had seen glimpses of Yoshida smiling a bit creepily when he thought no one was looking. The beauty of this job lay in action and protection and mission and destruction after all. That was what pumped our bodyguard blood. And we used this rare opportunity to go all out. Yoshida-san ordered a new arsenal of weapons a month earlier and I doubled my load of exercise and training with Raphael. It was one thing to keep fit, and completely another to train for battle (which probably wouldn't happen, but the hope was there!). Anyways, these were the most exciting weeks I had since I joined this job. It was only the security department which was hyped up though. The household servants who had nothing to do with it were rolling their eyes at our antiques for the whole month. Wakamatsu even scolded Yoshida and me for being 'disrespectful barbaric fools'. But we couldn't help it! The weapons had arrived and Yoshida had unboxed the riffles and the guns in the training hall booked for the security department. His eyes had twinkled with childish excitement and we had looked at each other and even if I had never wielded a weapon before, I was given one and we had run around the mansion, chasing each other in good faith surrounded by the musical bangs of random shots. We were enjoying ourselves, so it was a given that some vases might break in the game. They were expensive, but what else was Kaien's platinum card for?

And then, finally, the long-awaited night was here.

The servants were fumbling around a lot more that night. I woke up at 4 p.m, which was early. I geared up and blissfully wandered out towards Takuma's room. Glancing towards the window, I saw Ichio's personal driver engrossed into polishing the limousines that we were going to use later. They were already gleaming.

Grinning, I pulled open the door to Takuma's room and was met with the usual sight of maids fussing over Takuma. They had formed two groups and they seemed to be fighting over what to make their young master wear. One choice was a prince-like outfit with a fluttery shirt and a long coat and the other was a baby-size tuxedo. Takuma was stuck in between, trying to calm both parties down by proposing absurd compromises, like putting the top of the tuxedo on the tight prince legging. Anything to escape the fluttery shirt. Oh well, he seemed busy, so instead of greeting him like I usually did, I went straight to my partner-in-crime standing in his usual place by the window.

"Slept well, Yoshida-san?"

"Not a wink. And you, Katsumi-chan?"

"I day-dreamed about a princess who needed to be delivered from a group of bandits."

"Not bad, but not better than a brawl between two yakuza gangs over whose bocchan gets the fair maiden."

"Ooh, sly, Yoshida-san. But wouldn't the fair maiden get killed because she's too weak?"

Yoshida smiled. "Since her death results in a blood-boiling need for revenge, the fair maiden is more than appropriate."

We giggled together until Takuma's whining called for help. Aaah, I loved cracking murderous jokes with Yoshida. The guy was such a pacifist in real life that the absurdity of our play-pretend sadism was enough to make me double in laughter. Well, not all of it was play-pretend, though not on my side.

Anyways, yeah, helping Takuma…

Yoshida went forth, sliding back into his nice-guy smile and sweat-dropping at the sight of two maids glaring sparks at each other. "Now now, my ladies. It wouldn't do to hurt yourself, would it?"

"Stay out of this, Yoshida-san." One of the maids said, sneering at her opponent. "The Young Master needs to be dressed perfectly for this party. We will not accept negotiations."

And the man complied. Yep, see what I meant by absurdity of play-pretend sadism?

I huffed, patting his arm as he leaned back against the window pane, wordlessly passing the making-up baton to me.

It would not do to side with one side of the maid-army. It would incur the wrath of the other side, and I wasn't willing to risk any 'accidental' needle attacks again. So, solution, don't give a damn about any of them.

I walked up to Takuma's massive ward-robe and pulled it open. Hmmm, a lot of choice, but what to choose… Ah!

"Takuma." I called out, whirling around and throwing a boyish haute-couture ensemble to him. Classic shorts, a shirt, a ribbon and a jacket, all in soft tones of blue, grey and brown.

The maids sputtered and I glared at them.

"What? Don't you guys want to enjoy Taku-chan's cute boy charms while he's still small?" That silenced them while Takuma changed in the inner room. As usual, they squeal as soon as he opened the door, holding the ribbon in his hand. Then they started to fight over who would tie his ribbon for him.

Oh well, mission accomplished.

"Good job." Yoshida said, looking a bit apologetic as I returned to the window. "By the way, Reiko-san was looking for you."

"Huh? What for?" Me getting called out by Reiko was rare. Like, twice in my entire stay rare. And these were only to scold me. To my knowledge, I hadn't done anything worth getting shouted at recently.

"She did not say. She just told me to tell you to meet her at Maru-san's room as soon as possible." Maru-san was the in-house seamstress.

I huffed. "Maybe she just needs someone to help the girls get ready."

Yoshida raised an eyebrow at that. "They are older and bigger than you Katsumi-chan. I don't think that's it."

"I'm gonna see." I unstuck my back from the wall. "It's not like I can skip her orders anyway. Don't want to end up having to sleep in the lounge like poor Hiromi-kun." While Yoshida winced and nodded sagely, I set off. Takuma was still getting a headache over the maids. Too bad, I'd save him later.

The fitting room was just one floor below. I had heard that the maids who were going to the party were having a change of costume to match the Master, who'd decided he'd wear a traditional kimono for the night. But contrary to my speculations, nobody in the fitting room needed any help. Despite being pressured by time and the impending doom of luxury and performance, the girls were all calmly getting ready, some already putting on their jewellery and finishing their make-up.

I slid inside the room, weaving my way through the little space in between the bustling ladies. I spotted Reiko-san by Maru-san's side, giving the woman instructions of some sort. Maru-san was really dishevelled that night, not that she was any different other times, but the pressure was almost visible on her hair tumbling down in disarray as she worked ferociously on a sewing machine.

"You called, Reiko-san?" I asked when she did not notice me approaching. I had to ask this question twice again for Reiko to pivot away from Maru-san and point out that I was 'finally' there.

She beckoned to me and pointed towards a small pile of black cloth. "Come here and put this on."

I grabbed the pile, immediately noticing that the material had to be pretty expensive. But what was this? A new high quality uniform? I turned towards Reiko and mumbled a long "Ummmmmmm" to communicate my confusion.

Reiko only glanced towards me for a bit before returning her attention to Maru-san's work. Then, in a tone which was no doubt meant to question my intelligence, Reiko-san drawled out this: "What? You were obviously not thinking about going to the party in the rags you're wearing, were you?"

I looked back down to the pile of black silk in my arms and was filled with the same dread which touched a kid when their parents suddenly cancelled the long-awaited trip to the seaside. Or when the parents suddenly told the kid that his/her incredibly annoying and sticky cousin was also coming to the long-awaited trip to the seaside. But yeah, dread.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"Language, Katsumi-sama. And no, this is not a joke. The Ichijo family has a reputation and a standard to maintain. Yoshida-san will also be there and he is perfectly capable of protecting the Young Master. You are also a lady, so please behave like one for tonight." Oh yeah, Reiko called me –sama because my father was rich and I was Takuma's friend; she wouldn't budge on that.

"But a KIMONO?!" I asked, my voice dripping with disbelief at this blatant attempt to ruin my fun.

Reiko-san, no doubt irritated at me raising my voice so much at her, turned around and glared at me with her scary eyes, making me shrink back a bit. "You choose, Katsumi-sama. Either you wear a kimono and accompany the Young Masters to the party, or you stay at the mansion and patrol the gardens."

* * *

"Remember to hold me back later on when I will attempt to trap Reiko-san's room with my unused assortment of rusty blades."

"Oh, it's not that bad, Katsumi-chan." Yoshida chuckled. "You look as cute as my daughter in these clothes."

"Call me 'cute' once more, Yoshida-san, and I'll deliberately confuse Reiko-san's room for yours." Seriously, the man sounded almost like Kaien, calling me cute whenever I changed my clothes. We were waiting in front of the mansion for the Masters to come out. It was freezing outside, so the layers were warm enough. But damn were they hard to walk in. I tripped twice and once even fell flat on my face. That was right after putting the kimono on, still in the changing rooms, so Reiko instantly fixed my hair back. Because yes, they had also done my hair. They had braided the front of my silver-blond hair so that the braid fell behind my left ear. I had thought that was all, but no! They had then pined the falling braid and the rest of my hair on my head in an up-do that would have been quite cute if it didn't hurt like hell was pulling on my scalp. Oh, and there was a heavy butterfly hair accessory stuck to bun with pearls and black crystals hanging from it. It was pretty, so I was keeping this one to decorate my room. My kimono was also similar to the butterfly pin. It was black, with blue, turquoise and purple butterflies dancing around intricate, shimmering silver dandelions. The obi was dark blue, also dangling with a butterfly pendant. It was also beautiful and, like the pin, I was going to hang it like a tapestry on a wall in my room. I liked the kimono a lot actually, just not for wearing, not me at least and certainly not when I was working.

So that was the kimono, but you know what was worse than the kimono? The geta sandals. Reiko-san would scold me for it, but I was taking these sandals off the moment the entry show-off was over at the party.

I was driven out of my resentful musings when the servants and maids began lining the sides of the entrance, signalling the incoming Ichijo grandpa and the two midgets. Behind them were Takuma's parents, who I had noticed were almost never present except when they had to show their faces for events of some sort. I did not like them. Hell, Ichio was a creep but I liked him better than Takuma's no-name parents! At least the old man did not ignore him in the corridors when they accidentally bumped into each other. Takuma never talked to me about his parents, he never said anything about feeling lonely. I just couldn't help but notice the way his smile faltered sometimes when he noticed them somewhere and they did not even glance at him. Other times he also did not even look at them. He must have grown used to it. But for some reason, I felt worse when he ignored them too. But that wasn't my business, not until he talked to me about it. Oh well, I could wait. In my head, these things that I saw but had to wait for him to tell me so we could talk about them were my insurance tokens. They were a list which guaranteed a lengthy friendship, and the longer it took for me to tick them all off, the better.

So I stopped internally frowning at Mr and Mrs Ichijo at the back and instead glanced back to the front. No use commenting on their clothes: Ichio was dressed as a Japanese noble, Takuma the outfit I had chosen for him, and Kaname was in a similar outfit as Takuma, but his outerwear was black and his ribbon was blood red. As they passed Yoshida and me, Ichio gave me an approving nod, Kaname's expressionless face was hinted with shock and amusement (he was no doubt sensing my discomfort, the jerk) and Takuma's mouth was hanging open as he pointed at me and turned to Kaname for confirmation. The latter nodded and continued to walk forward as Takuma regained his composure and- the hell? Why wasn't he looking at me anymore? Where was the customary little wave that he sent to me every time we passed each other in public? Was it the kimono? Impossible, even if I couldn't walk much, I was aware that it looked great on me. I was a cute kid after all, even though I hated it when people called me that. Pfff, he must have forgotten with the shock. Lol.

After the Masters got in the limousines, the bodyguards climbed in and off we were to the party's venue. Ichio sat together with the boys so I couldn't talk to them during the ride. I looked outside and enjoyed the view. It was dark, but the flowing forests, and occasional plains and the lakes glinting with the silver of the moon were always stunning. Listening to the car's smooth engine as it rolled past the scenery always made me a bit nostalgic about the past world where I had enjoyed some rare nightly rides like this. That lost world, those streets I will never again wander through, those people I would never see again, those places I had planned to go to but never could, those people I would have loved to meet but never had… they welled in me an emotion which, though painful, I treasured like a beautiful memory.

And as we reached the venue in a distant town, I locked that memory back in its box and prepared myself to deal with the one I was in currently. I stepped out of the car and lined up behind the young Masters.

The doors were pulled open by two waiting butlers to reveal a lush venue with a sparse crowd of dressed-up people, all of whom turned to watch as Ichijo-sama was announced. Chandeliers and grand halls were once again the default setting. And while this world tended to always veer into the dramatics, saying that our entrance was no less than a procession wasn't even an exaggeration. It could have been an optical effect due to the cold air of the night, but a sizeable halo of grey smoke accompanied Ichio as he entered, naturally demanding respect and submission. Several of the guests inclined their heads and some even went as far as bowing down 90 degrees.

But even so, the reaction to Ichio was almost bland compared to the 'welcome' Kaname received. The already heavy atmosphere intensified, feeding off of the mixture of awe, fascination, worship, envy and lust which were radiating from the guests like an almost tangible cloud of poison; a cloud which I revelled in, of course. I'd spent all this time training for the danger that could – and would, even if not tonight- spawn from this crowd. Of course, facing danger wasn't the prime reason for my training, but what could I say? This fascination with violence is an incurable disease which plagues those of my profession.

The doors closed behind us and Ichio and his procession were greeted by the host and were shown to some refreshments. Yoshida and I walked right behind our young masters. Our eyes met and he nodded. While we were excited at the prospect of worthwhile action, our top priority was Takuma and Kaname's protection. Since I was not strictly attached to one of them, I was to roam the venue to check for anything suspicious while the boys were accompanied by their respective permanent bodyguards. After that, I would be oscillating between the two, which in all meant a lot of moving. In other words, I was gonna walk bare feet all night. Better than the clack clack that I still had to remove from my feet.

As soon as Ichio stopped to talk to someone, I shot a signal to Yoshida and Kaname's bodyguard and I slipped out of the group. I found an empty corner, took off the geta sandals, loosened my obi and let my eyes roam through the crowd.

'Looking' wasn't a skill Kaien had taught me; I'd taught it to myself, back when I'd been the eldest child in a financially unstable family in a city which thrived under the shadows of thirsty men and hungry women. 'Looking' was what showed me who was safe and who wasn't, where to go and where to avoid, what to trust and what to ignore. So here too, I looked.

Unfortunately, the hall was gigantic and the people too big for me to see much. But that also meant that I could go pretty much wherever without being seen. I'd noticed a balcony overlooking the hall when we'd entered. Getting to the staircases was child's play. The door was small and inconspicuous enough to be well hidden in the decor if one wasn't paying attention, but I found it easily enough by running my hands along the wall to feel for bumps in the texture (to look for secret passages, a technique which came in very handy in the mansion(s)).

The corridor/balcony upstairs seemed to lead to several closed doors, all of which were locked. Looking down the balustrade, I could see most of the hall. All in all, the guests seemed to be behaving pretty normally. Some were enjoying the buffet, some were examining it with distaste, some were happily chatting and most were bitching at each other. Yeah, nothing noteworthy there. Time to peek into the backstage (the kitchen) to make sure no poisoning act was on. Just like with the stairs, it was quite easy to find a small ventilation panel in a small corridor which discreetly diverged from the main balcony. And nope, only an angry looking boss screaming orders at nervous little minions there. So much for my fantasies of danger. Oh well, a last round around the building and I'd be just in time for the chicken which was currently in the process of being roasted.

Because finding a back door would take too much time and I was small enough not to be noticed, I slipped out of the hall through the main door. Outside, I was met with the curious glances of the door-openers. I paid them no mind and hopped down the stairs as quickly as a child would. I skipped to the nearest wall and immediately dropped the little girl act as I melted into the shadows of the building. As I went around checking surroundings including the parking, the valet-quarters, the gardens, I was met with (drumrooooooolllllllll) absolutely nothing. And yeah, I was disappointed to a certain extent. This was a party which had assembled most of the top-dogs in the vampire society. How come there wasn't even one stupid guy plotting to ruin things up?

I stopped in the middle of my flower pot inspection. That was actually really suspicious.

I flopped down on the grass. _What is the meaning of this?_ Unless the bad guys are all busy with something else, the possibility of there being no one to take advantage of tonight's situation was really thin. And according to my information, both as a bodyguard and as a reincarnation, there was nothing really big going on at this point in time in the _Vampire Knight_ World. Rido was still a sack of blood and bones, Shizuka was enjoying her free time… Nope. There was no big risk tonight. So where were the small fries? I couldn't have missed them…

 _Argh!_ I stood up. _Forget it._ I was losing my time pondering over this stuff. Maybe they were late or something. I'd just have to stick to the boys and protect them when the time came. Aaaah, such a pain. I dragged my feet back to the main door of the hall. And this time I did not even bother putting on girly airs. Sandals dangling from my hands, I just climbed the stairs, opened the door, entered and closed it, completely ignoring the smug smile on the door handler's face. As if he knew that all the looking around I was doing had been for nothing. I weaved my way through the guests until I reached a small crowd of Ichio maids.

"Where are the Masters?" I asked to the maid closest to me.

"Oh miss! You should wear your geta properly! Reiko-san would be so displeased to see your current posture." She commented, wiggling her fingers delicately.

"Well Reiko-san isn't here right now. Where are they?"

"Such an insolent little girl. Did you not learn that you should respect your elders?" She scoffed.

I sighed. She had to be a new girl. Must be quite good at her job if she was allowed to a party so early in her career. I ignored her and asked the maid next to her about Takuma and Kaname.

"They are currently in the VIP quarters past the little chamber over there. I can arrange some food for you if you want to eat while waiting for them to come out, Miss. They just went in, so they might take some time."

"I can't really take you up on the offer for the food, Aiko-san. But thank you for the information. I'll be sneaking in then. You guys can tell me if it was delicious later." I stepped towards the guarded VIP quarters and turned around a bit to say one last thing. "Oh, and, Aiko-san? Please tell the newbie to refrain from telling Reiko-san about my 'lax posture'. It could be dangerous... for her, of course." Threatening wasn't harmful in itself, so I wasn't going to refrain myself from doing it if I wanted to save myself from an annoying lecture later.

The entrance to the VIP quarters was very obvious despite the host's attempt to make it discreet. A veiled off corridor that I hadn't bothered inspecting earlier because of the couple of massive guards standing right in front of it. If I just told them I was an Ichijo family bodyguard, I'd just embarrass myself. Not many people on the outside knew what my real role was. It wasn't really kept as a secret, but it wasn't news published in the news either. I had no doubt that a seven year old working as a bodyguard to one of the most prestigious families of this world could create scandals here and there. But meh. If they controlled the press enough to hide the existence of vampires, who was I to worry about my public situation?

But we're straying, so I'll go back to the VIP quarters.

Need to find a way to get in. I wasn't a beauty yet, so seduction was a huge LOL. Hmmmm- Oh! Might as well use this status since I have it.

I fixed my kimono as well as I could, put on my geta and approached the bodyguards in slow, coquettish girly steps. I looked up at them with the widest eyes I could summon (they even managed to tear up a bit because I was stressing them! Perfect!) and began. "Uh, uhm, my friend is in there. He told me to always stay by his side, but I got lost in the crowd…"

One of the guards looked down at me expressionlessly and said, "This is a closed off area, Miss. We cannot let you pass without authorisation."

"B-but, Kaname-kun and Takuma-kun will be angry~" I whined. And bingo. As soon as these names were pronounced, the guards stiffened. They shared a couple of glances and whispers before one of the guards addressed me again.

"If you are truly with them, Miss, then we will let you in." _YES!_ "But since we cannot have you getting lost again, I will accompany you." _HUH?!_

"Um, no, it's ok. I'm a big girl, so I can go by myself." I shifted away clumsily as the guard moved to stand before me as a guide.

"You just told us you got lost Miss. If you are truly the honoured guests' friend, then there should be no problem if I accompany you safely to their side, right?" I felt a strong pressure from what I guessed was a heavy glare and despite myself, I could only whisper a feelble "I suppose so" before the guard began moving deeper into the corridor. This wasn't supposed to be like this! Now this'll create a scene and it'll look like as if I was taking advantage of my friendship with Takuma to rely on him; which was kind of true, but I didn't want it to be known! Aaargh! Why was this night turning out to be so embarrassing and disappointing? First with the kimono, then the lack of assassins and now this! I should just have stayed at the mansion!

"We have arrived." The guard said curtly as he opened the huge door at the end of the corridor. This revealed another hall, this one decorated with flowers. I peeked from behind the guard as he led the way towards a small group of kids who were chatting around a luxurious sofa set. "Ichijo-sama. This Miss here has been looking for you claiming that you were friends. She says that she got lost in the main hall, so I brought her here. Do you confirm that she is your friend?"

By then, I had my hands firmly planted on my face to keep the humiliation away. I… was never acting the part of the little lost girl ever again. I didn't want to see Takuma's face, which was surely scrunched up in confusion. I really didn't want to see Kaname's face, Kaname who was surely laughing at me because unlike Takuma he would have guessed what was going on. So no, I wasn't showing my face for the moment. Not even when Takuma got over most of his confusion and confirmed that yes I was with him. Not when the guard left. Especially not when I heard Kaname chuckle from a distance away.

I heard Takuma clearing his throat. "Umm, Katsumi-chan? Why are you covering your face?"

"Shut up, Takuma. I don't want to see you right now."

I heard a snort and a bratty, "Haha! You got rejected by a midget, Takuma-san." Followed by a calm, "That was rude, Hanabusa."

 _Hm? That name sounds really familiar._ I could hear Takuma's frivolous denying while I pondered about where I'd heard that name. _Hana, Hanabu.. Hanabusa-_ _No way!_

I dropped my hands from my face and watched the little boy in front of me cheekily chatting with his moody friend. Blond hair, icy blue eyes, could it really be him? A chibi Hanabusa Aidou?

 _KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!_

 _OH MY GOOOOOOOOD! IT'S HIIIIIIIIIIIM! SOOOOOO CUUUUUUUUUTE!_

I quickly jumped behind Takuma's seat and hid, trying to calm my heartbeat while I peeked at the young version of the genius hottie I'd always liked in the past. I had no doubt I had stars in my eyes when Takuma noticed me and asked what I was doing behind his sofa. When I didn't reply, he sighed and said, "I don't know what happened before you came here, Katsumi-chan, but I hope you will let it go soon since it does not seem too important. These are my friends. Do you want me to introduce you to them?"

 _Too quick! How can I meet Hanabusa in such an awkward situation?!_ I think I must have blushed since Takuma suddenly looked worried and asked if I had a fever. Suddenly, a hand came down on my shoulder, making me flinch. Yoshida-san was standing behind me, as equally confused and worried as Takuma. "Is everything alright Katsumi-chan? You've been behaving strangely ever since you got here." The look in his eyes was clear. Was I acting according to some danger I'd noticed on my patrol? Was the security breached in any way? Report the situation. And that was what shook me out of my fangirling state of mind. Right. I was not just a girl comfortably reading Vampire Knight in her room before going to sleep anymore. I was a bodyguard. I could not take my time to admire the beautifully drawn lines which made up Hanabusa Aidou anymore because this time around there were no drawings. This world was real. These people were real and I was a professional.

I stood up straight. "Don't worry," I said to Yoshida-san, lowering my voice to not alert Takuma. "I was just distracted for a minute. The perimeter is secured, but we should still be on the lookout. All that I could gather was that there were no birds flying in the sky." I stared into his eyes to stress my point. "None at all." Birds were one of the imagery we used to code our report. And having no birds at all could be both good and bad news. After Yoshida-san nodded, I turned to Takuma. "I'm sorry for my behaviour just now. You were saying?"

"Well…" Takuma glanced sideways, making me shift my focus to the small crowd that had gathered behind him. Because yes, the little ruckus that I'd caused had drawn the attention of the kids and they were all staring down at me. Curse my childish short frame. At the same time, most of the kids there were older than me by some years, and they were vampires (which meant great bodies), so of course they'd be taller than me.

Eventually, one of the kids, a pretty long-haired girl whom I assumed was a chibi Ruka spoke up. "Takuma-san, who is this girl? I have never seen her before. Is she a servant who you've befriended?"

I raised an eyebrow as Takuma frantically said, "No! She's not a servant! Katsumi-chan is my bodyguard and she's my friend!"

Ruka did not seem fazed by Takuma's defending at all. "Even a bodyguard is a servant, Takuma-san. You should rethink about befriending people who are not on the same social standing as you. You are too kind, so they can take advantage of your kindness anytime."

An orange haired boy who I assumed was a chibi Akatsuki immediately chastised her. "Ruka! That was rude! She is Takuma-san's friend!" All of which was futile. Ruka just turned her face away from him in a 'hmpf'.

Oh. Seemed like Ruka was already very wary of people who were not in her circle. The way she talked seemed to be painted by personal experience, which wasn't really surprising considering she was from a rich family. She was bound to have had some bad moments with enemies by this time. As a mature person, I could understand her reason for being wary, BUT! That didn't give her the right to insult someone whom she'd just met just because she thought they weren't rich. And my inner child was not very fond of bullying.

"I don't care about what you think, Ojou-chama. But I advise you to be careful should you choose to continue insinuating that I, as a professional and as Takuma's friend, am disloyal in any sense." I used the same tone and voice I'd used in my first meeting with Ichio and I stood as tall as my body allowed me to. This was no ordinary playground and these were no ordinary kids. So I couldn't openly threaten her, nor could I act in any highly disrespectful way which would cause problems for the Ichijo family. But lightly insulting her this way worked just fine! *Strikes evil laughing pose in old shojo manga style* Ho ho ho!

"Wha-? Chama? You are a lot younger than me, servant, so how dare you use this honorific to address me?! And how can you be a bodyguard anyways? You're just a midget."

… the 2nd time. That was the 2nd time I was called a midget in this party. "Who's a midget, you-"

"I think that is enough."

I turned around to see Kaname walking towards the group. He'd been standing by a window this whole time. Most of the kids except for Takuma and I gasped.

"It's Kuran-sama!"

"He's talking to us…"

Ruka turned beet red as he stopped right behind me. "K-Kaname-sama. I- I apologize if our arguing has disturbed you!"

"Not at all. This book was getting boring anyways."

"I-is that so?"

"Yes. But despite its distracting potential, I'll have to tell you to stop fighting with this girl lest matters go out of hand. You are a future lady, so you should not disgrace your family by responding to the taunts of someone younger than you."

Ruka's temper submitted to Kaname's words in a matter of seconds and she softly replied, "Yes, Kaname-sama."

I realised that things might have gone out of hand if we had continued further, but I also had pride. This was the future night class, and they were Takuma's friends, so I was hoping to get along with them as equals. No way was I going to bow down to any of them. I wanted things to be clear on the matter that I was not to be trampled on. And the way Kaname had worded things seemed to hint that I was inferior to all of them, which made me very angry.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Kaname hadn't finished yet. "And allow me to personally introduce this girl. Even though she is employed by the Ichijo family, she is not bound to the family as a servant. She is a free person, so what she says cannot be held against the Ichijo family. Her skills as a bodyguard are also top notch, so I'd advise you all to not test her temper. And finally, she is both Takuma's and my good friend, so I'd appreciate it if you all are nice to her from now on. Is that possible?" There were various nods amongst the crowd as well as some shocked faces (including Ruka's). "Then I will return to my reading." And he left.

I… well I was happy that he defended me and all, but why did I feel like a child at a sandbox whose parent had just told the other kids to "be nice and play together, ok?"? I turned to look at his retreating back and threw my imaginary toy scraper at his head. The conniving bastard. Why did he have to mix in some evil joke every time he said something nice?

I huffed, looked to the front and huffed again. Just like with the sandbox situation, things got even more awkward after the parent, that was Kaname, put his nose in. Ruka was glaring daggers at me, Hanabusa was looking at the ground with annoyed eyes and Akatsuki was looking as tired as an old man who was forced to watch his son's grandkids for the nth time. Forget it. We'd make friendship some other time. I turned to Takuma. "I'm going back to Yoshida-san's side. You continue enjoying the party, Taku-chan."

And I did just that. I retreated to Yoshida-san's peaceful side, ignoring the 'Taku-chan, lol' comments rising from behind.

"Not as you expected, Katsumi-chan?" Yoshida asked as I took off my geta and huffed again.

I loosened my obi again and handed Yoshida the butterfly pin for safekeeping. "Not at all."

* * *

 **AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, though it was a bit long. I hope you won't mind the way I perverted Ichio's character in this chapter. Too little information was given about him in the manga and anime, and he's a character I really like, so I wanted to try ways to explore him in this story. As I mentioned in the chapter, the world that Hino Matsuri portrayed was centred mostly around Yuki. This means that some characters' backgrounds can be played with however, and this is what I did. Because Takuma has that penchant for anime and manga, I thought that he could have inherited that trait from someone. And since the family member he's closest to seemed to be his granpa, so why not?**

 **Anyways, don't forget to review if you want to comment on anything or if you have any questions which don't require me to spoil you. I'll gladly answer to each and every review**

 **Also, I was really happy that you guys reviewed about the pairing thing for the last chapter, though I realise that it was kind of too early in the story. I have also noted down all of your suggestions concerning the omakes, so look forward to seeing them, sometimes as omake and sometimes as part of the story itself if I can do so.**

 **This time, I'd like propose a game, just for fun. It'll be like a trivia game for this story, not important facts, but rather very unimportant scenes and omake. Instead of me writing some omake down, I want to involve you readers in the writing in the form of reviews. No need to write much, just the gist of it is ok too. It'll be interesting to see how one idea can be developed through various perspectives. Answer if you want to and if you have time :D**

 **Question: How do you think a meeting between Kaien and Yoshida would go?**

 **(Pointers: How would they greet each other? Would they talk about Katsumi? Etc… You guys are free, so enjoy yourselves!)**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: soooooo? Happy to see me again? Yeees, I'm so bragging about being early for once! Lol!**

 **The response for last chapter was awesome! I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, especially the guest reviewers, since I can't reply to their reviews personally. I want you guys to know that I literally jump out of my bed with glee every single time my phone beeps, notifying me about reviews or new followers. Thank you again, and I hope you will continue-**

 **Oh, why am I thanking you like this instead of just letting you read the chapter in peace?**

 **Please go ahead.**

* * *

Chapter 11

What a curious scene.

From the wall I was leaning on, I watched as Takuma cheerfully interacted with the bunch of aristocratic kids, and I frowned. Something wasn't clicking with his behaviour. He was clearly engrossed into the conversation, politely smiling when he was asked for his opinion and all, but as someone who'd been close to him for the past year, I could tell at one glance that all of it was fake.

And I was surprised. This was the Aido-Kain-Ruka trio there. If they were so chummy in the future, why was he acting so detached now? Unless… it'd been so long since I'd read the manga that I was a bit confused now. Was Takuma actually close to the Night Class? I had only ever paid attention to the plot as a whole and to Aido and some other hotties, so I wasn't really sure about this. What I knew for certain was that the way he was acting now, the closed-eye polite smile and childishly cheerful leading, these were all part of his public image. That was the façade he showed to people who didn't know him or to those he didn't want to be close to; to people such as his teachers, his granpa's business partners, the salesman at the manga shop, etc… It was the face he'd shown me when I'd first ambushed him in that limousine the first time we'd met.

Had I not been so forceful that night, would he… would he have continued to show me that face? Forever? Would I never have seen the nervous Takuma? The blushing Takuma? The real all-teeth-out smile Takuma? The really-enjoying-himself-until-he-laughs-like-a-hyena Takuma?

"Pfft!"

"Something wrong, Katsumi-chan?"

"No." I wiped the pre-laugh off my face. "It was nothing, Yoshida-san."

Haha, just remembering that rare laugh was enough to free me from all those gloomy thoughts. I was lucky I'd made friends with him. That was all that counted. All that was left now was to find some time to barge into Hanabusa's life to show him how much of a fan I was. But of course, that'd have to wait.

I gathered my geta in my hands and turned to Yoshida-san. "I'm going to check up on Kaname-kun's side for a bit."

The man gave a short nod and I made my way towards the balcony Kaname had adopted for the night. Mirai-san, his bodyguard, was right beside him, standing rigidly by the armchair Kaname was elegantly seated on. Mirai-san was, well, he was a nice enough man when one took the time to talk to him. He didn't talk much, just the bare minimum, but he didn't exude any particular negativity or aloofness like, say, Raphael. But I suppose Mirai-san was comfortable with being a bodyguard for the ever silent Kaname. He did not even seem to mind my sometimes what could be considered 'inappropriate' behaviour towards the pureblood. He just did his job and did not complain.

"Anything standing out yet, Mirai-san?" I asked as I came to stand beside the man. Kaname had his eyes on the book in his hands, so I didn't bother greeting him just yet.

"Nothing on my part. What is the report on the patrol check you performed earlier?"

"I combed the whole area, and there was nothing. The situation is rather suspicious, so I would still be on my guards despite the apparent lack of threat."

Mirai-san nodded. "Very well, Katsumi-san."

I stood there for some time. I roamed my eyes around the hall, scrutinising each and every corner, each and every person until I was satisfied. Being the instinctive person that I was, I even tried closing my eyes for a bit to feel for anything wrong, anything which would trigger my 'danger-alarm', but still came up with nothing. I sighed. Seemed like the host of this party was a lot better-prepared that we had thought. We weren't even going to be able to face off with any minor threats if this went on.

"Whatever are you so gloomy about tonight, Katsumi?" Kaname asked, boredom so evidently dripping from his voice that one could drown in it (drown in the boredom, not in his voice!).

I glanced at him and was suddenly reminded of the reason why this party was organised in the first place. If he continued to keep to himself like this, not only would the party have been for nothing (this I didn't care about), but he'd plunge himself into a darkness so deep that his restraint from Yuki would become unbearable… Probably to the point that he'd drop into a madness similar to Shizuka in the future. And this, I really cared about.

I needed to do something, since nobody else seemed to have ideas anymore. _Think, Katsumi. What can uplift Kaname's mood in an instant? Answer: Yuki._

 _Is there anything else apart from her? Answer: No._

 _Are we doomed? Answer: Definitely._

 _NO! No, I refuse that! There has to be something else! He's just an old kid right now, for god's sake! There has to be SOMETHING!_

Throughout all my thinking, Kaname had shifted his gaze from his book to look at me, wordlessly inquiring as to why I wasn't replying to his question. And I was struck by those eyes. Those large, almost dead eyes of this boy who was no doubt suffocating in this never-ending spectacle that was life.

Aaarrgh! Why was I always stuck doing the hardest jobs?! Fuck this party! Fuck these rules! I'll just deal with Asato later!

I tied my geta to my obi using a spare piece of resistant thread I always kept on me for various reasons. I went to stand in front of Kaname and held out my hand. "Come with me for a sec."

Kaname blinked, and I guessed Mirai-san did the same. "What do you mean?" Kaname asked.

"Oh just come." I grabbed his hand and pulled. He was light enough and wasn't showing much resistance, so I had him standing straight away. I turned one last time towards Mirai-san. "Don't worry, nothing will happen to him. If anybody asks, just say he went out to play with a friend. We'll be back soon." And then we were off.

We didn't actually run, oh no, Kuran Kaname never ran. That was a given. I just pulled him along through the shadows until we reached an exit to the hall. Kaname was surprisingly silently complying with my sudden actions. I closed the door to the VIP hall behind us and dragged the pureblood down another corridor I'd noticed when the guard had been escorting me in earlier. Halfway through the corridor, I spotted a veiled off balcony; just what I'd been looking for.

I made him hide into the darkest corner of the balcony while I carried out a visual and auditory check of the surroundings to make sure no one was lurking around. Only after that did I begin examining the balcony itself, all under the increasingly imposing eyes of the moody ancestor.

As expected, he finally sighed and asked in a very tired voice. "Why did you make me accompany you to this place, Katsumi-kun?"

"You heard what I told Mirai-san, right?" I answered without looking at him. And there was what I was looking for! Now just to make sure it was safe…

I leaned my back against the balcony and stared up at the building's wall. Yep! All was safe!

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kaname getting out of the spot I'd planted him in and going towards the veil, obviously planning to leave. "Wait, Kaname! Where are you going?" I grabbed onto his sleeve to stop him.

And I almost saw what everyone close to Kaname had been dreading: cold, empty eyes. Almost. A tiny, fragile thread of patience was all that was holding the little boy inside him alive. If it broke, then we'd just be left with the cold-blooded, Yuki-obsessed Ancestor that the manga portrayed. "I do not wish to play along with your little games tonight, Katsumi-kun. I will return to the party."

He began turning to leave, and in a fit of desperation to preserve that single thread, I slapped him across the face.

…

…yeah… both of us were in shock at what I had just done.

Kaname face hadn't dramatically turned away from me, since I hadn't slapped him with even 1 percent of my strength. The slap was a childish one, but it was enough to stun him into a frozen state while I, though surprised, used that moment of stillness to gather my thoughts.

"Kaname." I spoke, eyes focused and voice firm. "This is enough. You can't go on to take the path of suffering like this. I get that all you care about is Yuki, but you should stop disregarding the fact that there are actually people who care about you too. I'm not telling you to suddenly start caring for and trusting everyone. Just, could you please make an effort to enjoy some of the things around you?"

Kaname had defrosted by then. And his expression was one I (and every reader of VK) knew very well: disapproval. "Careful, Katsumi-kun. We are not so close that you can speak to me this way."

Hah! Hahahaha! "Hahaha! Then what, Kaname-kun? Do you want to be left alone for the rest of your life? Do you like this loneliness? This empty and dark void space filled with a silence so suffocating that even death won't be enough to save you from it… Do you want that?"

Kaname's eyes narrowed, and I continued. "You are wrong, Kaname. If you think that you are the only one who can feel pain and loneliness, you are wrong. We all feel it, we all bury it deep inside ourselves just so we can enjoy the voices, the sounds, the presences around us while we still can. Don't look at me like that. I may be younger than you, but you know that never mattered, Kaname-kun. See? You also know that what I'm saying makes sense. But just knowing isn't enough. It's time to act upon it now, you hear me?!"

 _Haaa- Haa_. I waited for a response from Kaname as I regained my breath.

"… Is that all?"

Huff. Well I was expecting something moody like this anyways. I let go of his sleeve, finally calming down. At least that long speech had been worth it a little. Kaname's eyes were a bit warmer now. I myself wasn't very sure about why I'd suddenly spoken out about loneliness. Oh well, it seemed to have worked, so whatever.

"I guess." I replied, leaning back again against the balcony. "Never had any intention of speaking so much though."

Kaname chuckled. "That is reassuring."

"Oh, and one last thing."

"That was not all then."

"We are friends, Kaname. You might get on my nerves sometimes, and we may not have the same opinions about certain things, but we are friends. And as your friend, I have some rights over you. Which means, when I say we are going to play, then you obediently come and play."

"That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard." Kaname shook his head. "Nevermind. You do not seem to be in your normal state of mind at the moment, so I will overlook your sudden… boldness for now. I understand what you're saying, but if you're done, I think we should return now."

… _. He's completely avoiding all the advice I just gave him. Haaaaa… Maybe I really am not in my normal state of mind right now._ Some ghost must have possessed me; I would never have been this… open to Kaname otherwise. Or maybe it was because I was getting desperate about changing things for the better. I scratched my face, rubbing the annoying face cream off. _It doesn't matter now why I did that. I did it, and it was the right thing to do. If it didn't work, then it didn't work. I still have to get him to follow me for the thing I had initially intended on doing._

I looked up at Kaname and pointed at the vines firmly attached to the wall right beside the balcony. "We aren't done yet. Get over here, we are climbing this."

"… I'm taking back what I just said. Katsumi-kun, you are crazy." With that he turned and exited the balcony.

 _Whaaaaaat?_ "Hey! Come back here, Kaname!" I whisper-yelled. "Can't you go along with the mood?! I even checked to see if the vines were solid! Are you really going to reject my thought-filled emotional scene entitled 'Stargazing on the Roof which would have seriously increased our friendship and trust levels'? Kanameeeeeee!" I followed him out, but he continued to walk down the corridor towards the VIP entrance.

"I need to tell Takuma to stop providing you with manga. It seems to be negatively affecting your mental health."

I gasped. "You wouldn't dare."

Hand placed on the knob of the VIP door, Kaname turned towards me and smirked. Yes, he actually did. And despite it being a threat to cancel my monthly manga supply, I inwardly sighed in relief. Mission accomplished. He'd been saved from obsession; for now at least.

I followed him back inside the hall. If Kaname was willing to open the door to friendship with me, it meant my influence was being positive somehow. I'd have to spend more time nurturing our friendship now instead of just focusing on my bodyguard duties.

"Katsumi-kun? Could you stop staring at the ground? What if someone attacked me?" Kaname calmly asked.

"Pshhh" I brushed him off. "I already double-checked everything here, so you don't have to be- OMG! WHERE ARE THE KIDS?!"

The hall was empty. Not a soul around, no trace of Takuma, Yoshida-san and the others.

"No wonder people are always shocked to find out you were hired as a bodyguard."

I paid no mind to Kaname's witty remark as I considered the options. They could have gone back to the main hall, or they could have been led to one of the many doors which led further into the VIP quarters. I bit my lip. _What to do? I can't go around wildly searching through the whole mansion with Kaname by my side. Yoshida and Mirai are both not here, so that means Takuma is not alone._ Not alone was equal to safe. There were no traces of fighting around as well, so I should be calm about this. The simplest option first: go back to the main hall and look around.

"Come on, Kaname. We're going to check if they went back to the main hall. Walk right beside me, and keep close please."

Kaname complied, and we were about to head out of the VIP hall when I heard a click.

I grabbed Kaname's hand and pulled, using the leverage to throw both of us out of the room as the tiny arrow embedded itself in the woven carpet, right where Kaname had been half a second ago. The instant we fell on the ground, I dragged Kaname's slower body to the nearest wall and glanced back inside. The arrow was transparent and its body was slightly thick. Looking at the carpet, I could see that the spot where the arrow hit was a bit drenched. Conclusion: it was either a poisoned arrow, or one with some sort of anaesthetic. I was leaning more towards the anaesthetic. Kaname was too much of a precious guy to kill with a poison arrow, and even if they tried, they'd have to get their hands on a liquid composed of the material used to make anti-vampire weapons, which meant the Vampire Hunter Association. But I immediately ruled out that option. The Association was currently trying to get on the good side of noble vampires, so they wouldn't attempt something so amateur like this. Anaesthetic it was then.

I tried my best to look around the hall without losing cover. The upper walls of the VIP halls were lined with overlooking balconies, all attached to the higher floors. The person who shot the arrow had to be up there somewhere. Another click, and I retracted my face just as an arrow came flying for it, embedding itself in the wooden frame of the door.

 _Ok. These people are after Kaname, but I'm not sure if it's just Kaname they are after. They might just be keeping us from getting to the others, who might be their real targets. If the VIP Hall is like this, the Main Hall wouldn't be any safer. We could escape from the balcony we were in earlier, but we both don't know how to drive. Escaping just the two of us right now wouldn't lead us far. What to do, what to do?_

I glanced at Kaname, and I was suddenly very glad that it was him with me right now, and not Takuma or some other kid. This guy was the epitome of calmness. He was smart, he was the best I could work with at the moment.

"Ok, listen Kaname." I whispered. "I have considered all of our options, and the best thing to do is to regroup with Takuma and the others. This is most probably a planned coup, so the main hall is out of the question. The first thing we need to do for that is to get through that VIP hall. Ok?"

Kaname nodded and I continued. "Do you have any special powers that you can use to protect yourself?"

"Indeed, but they cannot be overused." Kaname whispered back. Of course, otherwise there wouldn't be any need for us bodyguards. His body wasn't yet the powerhouse he'd be in the future. He could probably still fight Rido upfront, but a boss battle wasn't the same as an army of small fries. And I wasn't even sure if they were all small fries.

"Use the tiniest amount of energy you can to keep yourself safe. I'll be taking care of what's inside. I won't be long, but put up a barrier or something, just in case."

"You mean you are going to fight in there?"

I glanced at his shocked face while untying the geta from my belt. "Yeah, why?"

"I can protect the both of us as we pass through that hall, Katsumi-kun. There is no need for you to put yourself in danger."

Such a clichéd phrase from the oh-so-powerful Kaname whose hobby is to protect little girls. I softly placed the sandals on the floor and proceeded to rearranging the kimono until it fell into a loose pattern I was more comfortable in. Last thing… I yanked the heavy butterfly hairpin that'd been holding my hair into a tight bun. And damn that felt so much better.

"Katsumi? Are you listening to me?" Kaname asked again.

I gave him my sweetest fake smile and handed him the pin. "Hold my hairpin and wait for me here. Ok?"

I reached inside both of my kimono sleeves for the double guns I'd asked Yoshida to lend me. I was still shitty at shooting, but not so much that I couldn't hit someone. I watched with glee as Kaname's face gradually fell in disbelief.

"You can watch, but don't forget to protect yourself. I'll be right back." And there, I was off.

I ran inside towards the middle of the hall. I didn't know where the enemy was, so I had to bait him/her into signalling their position. Wouldn't be hard since they were shooters. I stopped the instant I heard that distinctive click. I whirled around to avoid the arrow, which had come down from the middle of the second floor balcony of the left wall. And there was the guy! He was already preparing to move by the time I lifted my gun to aim. I tried to shoot in the shoulder, but the bullet hit the guy's abdomen instead. And there went my attempt at being merciful.

I didn't have time to think much before another projectile came crashing right towards me. I hid behind a sofa, but had to immediately move due to gun shots raining down on me from the direction I'd been facing. Not good, there were more people than I thought. I ran around the hall avoiding arrows and bullets as I thought of a strategy. Ok, there were 4 people in all, one in the first floor balcony, right wall, and two in the second floor balcony, front wall, and one in the third floor balcony, left wall. There were two arrow shooters left, one on the second floor and the one on the third floor. The arrow throwing guys needed time to replace their arrows, so they were easier targets than the gun shooters. At the next interval when the arrows were shot, I took down the two arrow shooters. I dance around the bullets until I reached a sofa set in the south-east corner of the hall. There, now I had cover, though it wouldn't last long. I listened for the right timing and aimed for the guy on the first floor; missed. I lost one strand of hair which got caught by a flying bullet while I whirled around to hide. I was going to give my all with the next shot since my sofa set was piercing already. _3, 2, now!_ I jumped out sprinting and aimed at both at the same time. One hit in the neck and the other clear in the head. Well, too bad. I hadn't wanted to kill them, just incapacitate. I'd succeeded with 2. But 3 had died. They were my first kill and I wasn't regretting shit.

I ran back towards the door and pulled on Kaname's hand, discarding the guns. "Come on, Kaname. We don't have time to lose."

Kaname's face was shadowed with slight shock. "Do you realise how dangerous that was?" he asked once we successfully passed through the now bullet-ravaged VIP Hall. The door on the front wall led to a dark corridor, at the end of which lay another door.

"I do." I replied to Kaname, who I guessed was frowning by now.

"You are not very good with guns, are you?"

"Bingo! That was my first time." I replied absentmindedly, carefully listening for anything which might harm us. "Now hush. There are people behind the next door." I whispered.

I motioned for Kaname to stay put and to protect himself while I silently approached the door and pressed my ear to the wood. I could hear voices, but they were too blurry for me to decipher what they were saying. But the tone of the voices was enough for me to make a decision.

I gestured for Kaname to hide himself in the shadows. The door was locked and I was way too small to fantasize about breaking doors just yet. So I was left with one thing.

I knocked.

At the first knock, all voices on the other side stopped. I heard movement as the guys probably began putting themselves into position to prepare for whoever was behind the door. At the second door, a rough voice called out. "Who is it?"

Lol, this was like playing 'knock knock'.

For the second time that night, I brought forth the girliest voice I could manage. "Ummm, hello? I got lost, and there's no one around. Could you help me? Pretty pleeeeeease?" God I hated myself.

I heard chuckles on the other side of the door, and more movement. After a few seconds, the door was unlocked and pulled open. On the other side, a small army of rough men were smirking at me, all dressed like the guy I'd shot earlier.

"Who might you be, little girl?" The guy closest to the door asked, smiling in an extremely, extremely, disgusting way. Yep, I wasn't going to regret much if I killed tonight.

I instantly dropped my cutesy act and sent the man flying with my best kick. The other people were frozen for a few seconds as the guy crashed into a wall, hitting his head the wrong way in the process. I cracked my knuckles. "Who's next?"

That question was followed by a chaotic fight in which I punched, kicked, avoided hits and caught those who were trying to run away. The final scene was one of broken furniture and bodies lying on the ground + the famous "Moaning in Pain" BGM. Kaname had approached the room to see what all the ruckus was about some time in the middle of the fight, and his expression was now more shocked than ever.

"You have so much brawl, Katsumi-kun." He said distastefully as he wove his way to me through the labyrinth of broken bones.

"I have to, since I'm surrounded by girly guys like you and Takuma." I retorted, looking around to spot the guy who I'd half-spared earlier. He'd been the most 'innocent' looking amongst the crowd and I had every intention of using him for interrogation and guiding purposes.

Kaname didn't answer, and I did a mini-internal hooray over my small win. This was probably the first time he'd been called girly. Lol.

Oh, there was my red-head boy, crawling towards what looked suspiciously like the exit.

I walked to him and stomped on his outstretched hand. He yelled in pain.

"What is going on?" I demanded, fixing him with my special cold eyes. I hadn't used them much in this world yet.

The guy looked like he wanted to cry, and because he was a bit good looking, my heart twinged a little. I lifted him up and made him sit on a chair. "Now tell me."

"I-I don't-"

I punched the wall beside his ear and he flinched. I watched as his body withdrew into a foetal position, limbs trembling and I could only wonder at the thought of how a little girl could scare a grown man this much. I was suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of self-disgust. This really wasn't normal… These people deserved this, but what did this say about me?

 _Am I a monster?_

I gritted my teeth. _Get a grip Katsumi. Now isn't the time to go thinking or remembering things from the past._

I sucked in a deep breath and resumed the interrogation with a lower voice, vaguely aware that I was being scrutinized by Kaname all the while.

"If you tell me everything you know, I won't hurt you. Speak. What is going on here? Who hired you?"

The guy seemed to flinch back even more. He was going into shock, he wasn't going to speak. Maybe I should have picked someone less fragile…

"Let me try." Kaname said abruptly, pushing the hairpin back into my hands; hands which were now covered in blood.

 _Now is NOT the time-_

"What are you going to do?" I asked Kaname as he gently grabbed the guy's chin. Then, a wave of soothing energy began emanating from Kaname's body. Even I began to feel a bit tipsy. I was only able to break through it due to the rebellious vampire energy running through my veins. But the guy wasn't that lucky. He began to uncurl and to lean towards Kaname, surrendering to him.

 _Hypnosis_ , I thought. _Quite a useful skill to possess…_

"And now you will tell me everything you know, won't you?" Kaname demanded in a voice as soft as cotton.

"M-my name is Ruta. I came here tonight because they said the pay will be good. All we had to do was keep anyone from crossing this room as soon as the plan was on."

"What plan?" Kaname prompted. I'd decided that if my voice scared the guy so much, it'd be best for me to just shut up for once.

"What plan? The evacuation. They said there was a fire, and everyone had to evacuate through the back door. The fire was fake, it was just to get the lord and the midgets in the sealed room for a while. That way the prince'd be all alone. And even the prince wouldn't be able to do anything against so many people."

I frowned, so did Kaname. "What were they planning to do to the prince?" the prince, obviously Kaname, asked.

"I don't know. They just said something about blood… Useful blood… Can't remember."

I glanced at Kaname. So this _was_ all about him…

The guy continued. "But we failed… yeah, we couldn't keep the room safe… they gonna get angry at us now… oh shit, we all dead now… we all dead anyways..." He was degenerating into a psychotic state.

Kaname let go of him and cut off the hypnosis. The guy… Ruto… gasped once and then curled so tightly towards the wall, shaking in terror, that I could only pity him.

"Let's go." Kaname said.

We passed the small door that the mini-army had been safe-keeping and were met with a dimly-lit stairway leading deep down into the darkness. I went in first, arm outstretched to make sure Kaname was never too far behind. My kimono, now blood-stained and ruined, was smoothly dragging behind me, stirring up the dust with soft swishy sounds. The darkness did not really matter to the both of us and we steadily descended until we reached the door to the basement. I once again listened carefully to hear if there were voices or movement behind the door. And yep, low murmurs and… was that Hanabusa whimpering?

I glanced back sharply at Kaname to let him know that I was going in. There was no way for me to know about the situation inside the room, no keyholes or anything. So I just barged, ready for action.

And what was waiting for me there? A climax scene where the villains were keeping Ichio and the kids hostage? Oh no, not in this version of this world.

I was welcomed by a cranky "You are late" from Ichio, a bright smile from Takuma, an unconscious Mirai-san and a whiny "It's so boring here, can we get out now?" from Hanabusa.

 _?_

 _?_

 _What the he-_

"We have already incapacitated the enemy here." Raphael calmly informed me, suddenly jumping down from a shelf right beside me and scaring me half to death.

"Since you are here, that means you've cleared out the guys from the VIP Hall down to here, right?" Ichio asked, to which I could only nod. Kaname had joined my side by now, and was fervently welcomed by the Noble granpa with a long "I'm relieved you are safe and sound, my Prince."

As Kaname returned to Takuma's side, calm and cool as if he was just back to class after leaving for the toilet, I sidled back to Yoshida-san as quickly as I could, and the man pinched my arm.

"Oww! What was that for?" I whispered.

"Where did you disappear off with Kuran-sama?! Do you know how worried we all were?"

"I didn't know this was going to happen!" I hissed. "What about here? What made up this mess?"

Yoshida huffed and began whispering out the situation report. "We were brought here right after the fire emergency was declared. We immediately sensed that something was off, so we were ready when they tried to lock us in using these electric barriers. Mirai was worried about Kuran-sama and Takuma-sama was barely restraining himself from running out to look for you. When Takuma-sama suddenly stood up, a guy hidden in the shadows shot an arrow at him, and Mirai blocked it with his body. It was unnecessary, since I was prepared to knock it away, but he was not thinking right. That's why he's unconscious. Following that, the Master's bodyguards knocked those guys out and some went out for reconnaissance. That's all for now. What about you?"

I recounted everything that had happened until now, to both Yoshida and Ichio. I'd thought he'd be exploding with anger and sending heads flying off by now, but the grandpa was keeping his cool about all of this. Maybe he'd known…? Nah, he wouldn't have put us all in so much danger had he really known. But he might have anticipated this, since he had so many enemies and all. This had to be a usual occurrence for him… Sucked to be rich.

Two ninjas hopped down beside Ichio, informing him about whatever they'd found on their reconnaissance. Asato nodded, dimissing the ninjas and glanced at Yoshida and me, orders on his lips. "Go back and sort this out then." He was looking down at me with eyes a bit colder than usual; he was no doubt angry about me giving the bad guys the opportunity to carry out their plans by leading Kaname away from the others. He wouldn't have sent me back out there had it not been for that. This was a punishment, and I wasn't going to complain about it. Things like this were better fixed straight away instead of being dragged long. "My guards are enough to take care of the people here while you are away. Check that everything is safe before returning."

I looked up and behind Ichio, I could see Takuma take a step forward, his eyes heavy with worry after taking in my bloody appearance and disastrous kimono. My feet were bare and dirty, my hair completely dishevelled, and my hands, still gripping my hairpin tightly, were caked with blood. My eyes wandered to the other faces around the room. The guests, the parents and the other kids… all withdrawn and whispering among themselves. Ruka, who'd been so aggressive and fearless earlier, flinched and looked away when our eyes met. In the background, I could hear Yoshida's reluctant voice as he acquiesced to Asato's order. I also looked back to Asato, nodded and said, "Very well, Ichijo-sama. Please stay safe while we secure the exit." Then I turned around and walked out the basement.

… _I am seven… how can I be a monster in the eyes of vampires who wouldn't hesitate before killing me if it meant they could level up somehow?_ I bit my lip as I waited for Yoshida to close the door behind us. This… I thought things would be different in this world… so why did I have to face these expressions again? These faces twisted in fear and disgust? These whisperings… I thought it was the people who were not ok back then… I thought this world would be more understanding… What-what if I was wrong all along? What if I was the real monster and not them?

"Katsumi-chan," I felt Yoshida's hands fall heavily on my shoulders as he softly asked, "Are you alright?"

What was he doing? Wasn't he scared of me too? I had blood on my shoulders as well, wouldn't he get his hands dirty by touching me?

"Yoshida-sa-"

I couldn't say anything more. Why? Because my voice caught in my throat as Yoshida suddenly hugged me.

"Listen, Katsumi-chan. You know this already but I will say it once again. This job is hard. Because we've been amongst ourselves up until now, you never had to face the dirtiest part of our duty."

"What?" I asked, voice cold. "Killing? Because I've done that already, and I'm completely fine with it."

"No, not that." Yoshida said, though his hug tightened a little. "I've killed too. We're taught to kill, because if we hesitate about that, then we're the ones who are dead. Not to mention the people we're meant to be protecting. No, killing is bad, but it's not the worst. The worst is the judgement; the way people look at you differently when they see what you are really meant to be doing while protection the young masters. And this part doesn't even spare friends and family. Most of them get scared. Most of them get sick of you. And if this part if too hard for you to bear, then you can quit anytime. However," Yoshida pulled back and flashed me what I called the 'daddy smile', "the world is not all dark and gloomy. It might be hard, but you can always find people who will trust you and who will love you for who you are. In your case, the Young Masters seem to be very strong supporters, Katsumi-chan."

"You mean Takuma?" I sniffed back the snot that'd began dripping down my nose instead of tears. My eyes weren't wet, but my voice was a bit hoarse with feels.

"Yes, as well as Kuran-sama." Yoshida replied, ruffling my hair before standing back up.

I scoffed, "Oh please, we're not that close yet." _Weird, that sounds like deja-vu_.

Yoshida smiled cheekily, "If you say so, miss. Now… (cue glinting eyes of excitement) are you up to some action? Or are you going to chicken out?"

"As if." I muttered, taking the lead up the stairs. I tossed my hair back and noticed the hair pin again.

 _This thing is so pretty..._ I thought. Up ahead lay the room where I'd beaten up the mini-army, and I could already see the trembling guy, Ruto, who'd stopped trembling, probably passed out. _If I am going to live like this, then I am going to have to take responsibility._ I gripped the pin in my hand. Just like before, when Juri dressed me up into pink princess outfits, I could only think of one thing: _This doesn't suit me._

"By the way," Yoshida asked once we had passed the men-filled room, "What happened to the guns I lent you?"

"Discarded them." Just like the butterfly hairpin, which was now lying broken next to the messy form of the boy who'd trembled at my sight, never to be touched again by my dirty hands.

* * *

Yoshida was a contagious man. He was probably the reason why Takuma turned out to be so bubbly despite living in those moody, posh circumstances. If fighting earlier had made me depressed due to negative thoughts, fighting alongside Yoshida now was the complete opposite. It wasn't even _like_ a game; it was one. Since I was so bad at shooting, I was given a frying pan we'd snatched from the kitchen as weapon. And as Flynn Ryder from _Tangled_ had so enthusiastically testified, it made an amazing weapon! Damn yeah!

Just as we'd speculated, the main hall had been booked as the special battle zone. It was choked full of massive guys carrying heavy artillery. I think I even saw a bazooka in there. Right in the middle of the scene sat the 'host' of the party, still wearing the smile he'd used to welcome us earlier. Hmpf, no wonder there were no "birds flying in the sky" until recently.

Well anyways, with Yoshida there, and without people to protect, the dynamics of the fight differed tremendously from the previous ones. I distracted the enemies and covered for him as Yoshida shot everyone down, including the host. He was useless now, and we hadn't gotten orders to spare the organiser of all this, so to hell with leniency. We almost went all out in this fight; the only thing I held back from was using the active version of my vampire energy.

It was a massacre, and a physical toll on my already a bit tired body, but I noticed none of that. I could only concentrate on not crumbling into a fit of laughter at the silly, unexpected dad jokes Yoshida was cracking, all the while never missing his target. By the time we were the only ones left standing, I was holding my stomach as I breathlessly coughed out a soundless laugh.

The hall now had a hole in the wall from when the bazooka shot was fired and one of the chandeliers had crashed down on the floor. My kimono was in tatters, torn here and there from when I crashed a guy into the fallen chandelier, sending a spray of sharp crystal shards backfiring at myself like the dummy I was. I got several cuts too as a result, most of which had healed already. Yoshida wasn't any better. His crisp white shirt was now blood-stained and his left eye was swollen a bit from when he crashed into a table corner as an aftereffect of the bazooka. Not wanting to wander around half naked for the rest of the night, I snatched a jacket from one of the less-bloodied dead men and slid in on top of the kimono. Then we were off for a very detailed combing of the whole mansion to check for left-over traps and random enemies. The concluding round yielded obvious results. Everyone involved in the coup was lying either dead or unconscious in the rooms we'd left them. This attack was a very haphazardly planned one, no challenge to the brain, just brawl as Kaname had commented.

The host got overly eager when he was put in charge of organising this party for the famous Ichijo family, who was currently housing the last Kuran. Since purebloods rarely went out, especially as kids, the host got it into his head that Kaname would be 'fairly easy' to kidnap. Because he was rich and stupid, the host decided it would be a lot more efficient to hire an army and to provide them with enough weapons to overtake a fortress than to try a sneak attack. The result was clear. What wasn't, was the reason why he wanted to kidnap the boy. Maybe we shouldn't have been so carefree about killing him then?

"Oh don't be, the reasoning is obvious." Ichio stated as we finished reporting the situation to him. I must have spoken out loud for him to reply to my thoughts. "Purebloods are renowned for the power their blood holds. Various people/organisations have tried to kidnap them before to conduct 'experiments', so I wouldn't be surprised if this was another one of these cases." Ah… so that was what the guy was mumbling about earlier. "We should head out if there is nothing else of importance here." Ichio continued. "It's getting late."

Asato, Yoshida and I were the last ones in the main hall. Everyone else had been safely led out to their respective cars. Looking out the door, I could see that the sky was starting to lose its glossy darkness. Gradually, it will dim into a dull grey until the sun burns the rest of the night away.

Yoshida and I followed behind as the Master left the hall, not bothering to close the doors behind us. Most of the guests were gone by now. Only a few were left, the VIP. While Kaname was already settled inside the limousine, Takuma was still outside, busy saying goodbye to the chibi night-class trio. As we drew closer to the little group, I slipped away from Ichio and approached them. Hanabusa was the first to notice me, and he did so with a gasp followed by a sigh of relief. "It's only you! You scared me, coming here so suddenly with clothes like that. I thought you were a ghost for sure!"

I blinked, "So ghosts do exist?"

"Maybe, can't rule it out since I've never seen one." Aidou coolly replied crossing his small arms and adopting a cute expression of focus. "The existence of ghosts is still a debated theory in the field of physics, and the probability of negatives which is accentuated by the possibility of their existence renders the-"

"Hanabusa, we can't understand you again." Wild-senpa – I mean, mini-Akatsuki interrupted. That made me glance towards him, or rather, beside him, where a sick-looking Ruka was slowly but surely beginning to shake. She suddenly uttered a quick "Take care, Takuma-sama" before turning around and making a beeline for what I assumed was her waiting car. Seeing that, Kain got cutely flustered, "Wha- wait, where are you going, Ruka? Ruka!" And there, he was gone too.

"What's up with her?" Aidou commented. Takuma was frowning slightly, and I was just like 'meh', couldn't care less anymore. Ruka could hate me if she wanted. She wasn't all too nice in the first place anyways.

But that didn't apply to Hanabusa. _So gather your guts and do it already, Katsumi!_

I tried to be natural, I did. But the best I could do was a robotic walk, an expressionless face and a very sudden "I'm a huge fan of yours! Can we be friends?!" as I slapped my hands down (or rather up, since he was slightly taller than me) his slender shoulders.

And there, I was doomed. _Nonono, you did your best. Don't care anymore. The rest is up to divine intervention._

Hanabusa's face was expectedly blanched with shock, but he recovered quickly with an embarrassed blush. He sputtered, hands frantically trying to pry my un-budging ones from his shoulders. "F-fan?! You don't even know me!"

"Hanabusa Aidou, a young genius in both the human world and the vampire society. I'm not a stalker, so I don't know things like your height, or favorite foods and all. But I really like you, and if you refuse my offer of friendship, then I will pursue you to the ends of this world, I will be there even when you go to the toilet to take a dump until you agree to be friends with me. So? Soooo?"

"O-okay, I guess…" he feebly answered, blanching again.

… This was effective, but I was a bit in pain at the thought that 'pushy' was all I was good at. T-T

I let him go, and flashed him my who-let-the-teeth-out smile. "Great! I guess I'll see you around then!" I sent him off with a wave as he returned to his car, wobbling like a poor soul.

When I turned around, Takuma had wiped off his just-for-show smile and was now looking at me with the most dramatic how-dare-you-betray-me expression a kid's face could manage. I sweat-dropped. "What?"

"That-that was how you did with me. I can't believe I am best friends with a person who bullies people into becoming her friends. And what does that make me?" I swear this guy would be tops in those morning dramas that old ladies watched while making breakfast. "Are you bullying me too?!"

"Oh my, worry not, Taku-chan." I smiled, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "You will always be my favourite target."

"Katsumi-chan!" Takuma called out with bro-tears.

"Taku-chan!" I played along.

"Katsumi-chaaaan!"

"Taku-chaaaaaaan!"

…Ok. Maybe Kaname was right about us reading too many mangas.

"Katsu! It's late, get in already! You too, Young Master!" Yoshida called out.

And that was how the first vampire party I ever attended ended.

* * *

Omake 1: Hanabusa's thoughts.

"…if you refuse my offer of friendship, then I will pursue you to the ends of this world, I will be there even when you go to the toilet to take a dump until you agree to be friends with me."

 _What is 'dump'? Since it's in the toilet, does she mean excretion?_ *shock* _She means excretion!_ *double shock* _How can a girl talk so openly about excretion? But wait, she wouldn't dare do something like that. She's just a girl after all…_ *looks closer at girl and re-evaluates his impression of her based on the latest data**triple shock* _She would so dare…_

"So? Soooo?"

"O-okay, I guess…" _What is she going to make me do as her friend?_

-THE END-

Omake 2: Yoshida's dad jokes.

 _Boom! Pew pew!_ –Pause- _Pew pew!_ (Cheap sound-effects due to low budget)

"Know what a zombie would say if it could talk?" Yoshida asked in between shots.

I jumped on a falling corpse and smashed someone in the face with my frying pan. "No, what?"

"It was nice to eat you."

*glances at each other in the middle of action*

 _Kekekekekekekekekekekekeke_ *snort* _kekekekekeke_

-THE END-

* * *

 **AN:**

 **(Dad joke version): What will happen to Hanabusa if he becomes friends with Katsumi? He will become Hanabused. Lol!**

 **….**

 **…..I guess I'll just see you guys next time for the following chapter.**

 **JK!**  
 **To be honest, I'm not fully satisfied with this chapter. As I said before, my writing is driven by the characters. Sometimes, they decide to turn things in a way I had never even thought about. Like how Kaname suddenly decided he was too cool to go along Katsumi's emotional bromance mise-en-scene.**

 **I swear, I may be the author, but when it comes to see what will happen next, I'm just like you readers. I have things planned out, but the characters overtake almost every single time. It's exciting though, so I'm not gonna complain (though I realise I've done just that…).**

 **Last thing! We'll continue with the game from last time. This time the theme is:**

 **Can you imagine Wakamatsu's reaction when Katsumi returns to the mansion in her current state? (meaning torn and bloodied clothes etc…)**

 **Don't forget to review and to follow the story if you like it! I will update as soon as I can! Love you guys :***

 **Ps: Next chapter is a time skip ;)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello :) It's been a long time, how are you guys?**

 ***looks at the 120 reviews, the 280 favourites and the 369 followers***

 **... yeah, a really long time...**

 **I am really sorry about this long wait. I got my first real job two months ago and I have been really busy since then. As an apology, I promise to release another chapter really soon. If I don't, you can, well... I will upload it so let's not venture into dangerous territory just yet. For now, I will let you enjoy this chapter :3 I hope you like it.**

 **PS: just a small explanation. Last chapter had a bloody fight between Katsumi and thugs which were employed to capture Kaname, remember? Well, a really nice reviewer reminded me that vampires turn to f***ing dust when they are killed! So, explanation = those thugs were actually humans! (no, I am not an idiot... probably).**

 **I'll leave now.**

* * *

After that fiasco of a party, things became… well… tighter. The boys were monitored a lot more closely than before. Both Takuma and Kaname were put on tough schedules and there wasn't much time for them to go out of the mansion. Naturally, Kaname's visits to Yuki became less frequent. This, my friends, led to a tumble of eventualities. One: I had less opportunities to visit Kaien, which made me grumpy. Of course, I had breaks from time to time, but still- _I wasn't a free employee for nothing bro! Give me some more space, Asato!_ But who was I kidding? Kaname not going didn't mean I wasn't sneaking out in broad daylight when everyone was sleeping. That made me lack sleep though, which made me even grumpier. As a result, I had absolutely no energy to spare acting as a nice little girl in front of the mansion's staff. I just didn't give a shit anymore. To hell with sucking up to the Master's ninja bodyguards, to hell with staying on the good side of those bitchy maids- just, no. And that, as a weird side effect, made me grow closer to Kaname. Because eventuality number Two was: Kaname didn't get to visit his eternally beloved Yuki as much as he'd like to, which made him VERY grumpy. He withdrew a bit into his gloomdom, and I got worried that all my hard work was going to go down the drain, so I took him with me sometimes when I snuck out. I chose rainy days to bring him out, and even then, I had to bypass the ever careful Mirai-san. Haaa, those were hard to do, had to plan nights in advance and even then we didn't always succeed. When we were caught, I was lectured for two hours by Wakamatsu and was beaten to the ground by Raphael. I liked both of those guys, so I didn't mind those punishments as much. …I know… I realise how 'M' I sound too…

Anyways, three years had passed. I grew, and so did the boys. My hair was longer too, reached my mid back now (it was slightly longer than my neck before). I got bored of the little black dress, wanted something cooler. Soooo, behold the awesomeness of my latest outfit! A pair of striped black and white stockings under black shorts + a black T-shirt with a divine 'who cares' tag, all beautifully completed by a custom-made leather jacket and solid combat boots. *draws in breath* BADAAAAAAASSSSS!

Yeah lol, I had the seamstress make it for me after I saw it in one of Takuma's mangas. But I refused to call it cosplay since I actually used the outfit. The leather jacket was a feather light version which didn't hinder my movements, and I still kept the multi-purpose belt I was given when I first arrived. PLUS! I now had a *sparkly eyes* fucking katana sword strapped to my back! HELL YEAH! I MADE IT! HAHAAAHAq- hawq! *clears throat* Sorry. I've calmed down now, so I shall continue.

The sword was midget sized since I was still learning how to use it. Asato was my teacher. But unlike what one would think, he never taught me together with Takuma. It was usually either before Takuma's lesson was scheduled or after his was over. And my sessions were usually very short. Like, 15 mins short. But I was still happy to finally be able to wield those sexy blades. I was still shitty with guns, though I was improving a bit… just… not too much…

Oh well, if I was perfect everyone'd fall for me right? Couldn't risk that. Lol.

So, apart from me changing wardrobes, nothing too great happened. Or no, maybe some things did happen… like me meeting with HANABUSAAAAA again on a small gathering for chibis which was organised at the Ichio Mansion. Teasing him at that time had been so fun, he kept running away from me while screaming at Akatsuki for help. Takuma still kept his public-nice-guy mask all throughout the meeting. I asked him why he did that when the other kids were gone, but the boy gave me that smile, you know, that smile which so obviously meant -Oh dear, you don't know what I know, but I still like you so I won't get angry at you for not knowing- Yeah, that smile. I kneed him in the gut as response. Then I quickly forgot about it since he gave me his strawberry cheesecake dessert as offering later in the night.

All in all, Kaname, Takuma and I grew a lot closer in the years which followed the party. Takuma was as usual, friendly to a fault. Kaname was the one whose attitude changed the most. I think I must have impressed him with my bloody fights that night. The thought of him actually considering me as Zero's replacement sometimes crossed my mind. He needed someone to stay beside Yuuki, someone strong enough to protect her against any threat and someone bound to her enough to never abandon her. Should Kaname have uttered a single word about Kaien, about my protective instincts, or should he ever have tried to blackmail me into protecting Yuuki for his sake, I would have instantly saw through his intentions of using me as a version 2 of Zero. But he never said anything like that, he never even hinted so. Even this might be a strategy though, he might be trying to get close to me so I would protect his sister in the future for the sake of our friendship. Or he might just be waiting for the right timing to drop the bomb. But… I don't know… when I looked at him almost laughing when he was together with Takuma and I, or when he clearly showed signs of favouring my company over anybody else's ('cept for Takuma, of course), I just couldn't resist the 'Naaaaaah, this guy's acting sucked too much to pull these expressions off'. Besides, it was already clear between Kaname and I that we could be frank towards each other. No sugar coating, no roundabout way of answering when I asked a question and all that shit. He was a smart guy, one slap had been enough for him to understand the way I worked. So if he was planning to send me off as Yuuki's bodyguard in the future, he'd tell me. Yeah, I was going to believe in that.

Before you guys get the wrong idea though, I wasn't against protecting Yuuki. At all. One of the reasons why I was a bodyguard by Kaname's side was to protect her after all. But I just wasn't going to be manipulated into protecting her. That was a no-no. Of course, by the time the plot really began and we were all out at Cross Academy (lol, a school in my name xD), if she was threatened by anything, I'd protect her. But for now, the girl was safer than ever by my papa's side.

Speaking of Kaien, he actually freaked out when I showed him my new outfit. He went all like "OH MY GOOOOOWDDD! MY LITTLE BABY SHOULDN'T BE WEARING THESE BADDY STYLE CLOTHES!"

I paid him no mind.

Concerning Yuki, I was guessing, no, confirming, a major change in her compared to the manga Yuki. My friends, bless the lord, Yuki Cross was no longer a Kaname fangirl. Sure, she still liked him a lot, went all 'waaaah, Kaname-nii is here!" when she saw the guy, but… well… the difference between how she greeted Kaname and how she greeted me was too extreme to ignore. In other words: "KAAAAATSUUUUUUMIIIIIIIII-NEEEEEEEEEEEEE! PLAY WITH ME! KYAHAHAHAHA!" (the last part was her laughing when I tickled her.) Yuki seemed to have developed a 'my big sister is so cool' complex as opposed to her initial 'Kaname-is-love' *dreamy eyes* thing. Of course, the guy in question wasn't very happy about this. His sourness was especially evident when Kaien innocently (or evilly, I wasn't questioning) asked this question to a 7 year old Yuki: "Ne, Yuki-chan, who do you like the most? Kaname-kun or Katsumi-chan?" And the answer which killed Kaname in front of my very eyes: "Yuki likes Katchumi-chan da mooooost! Yuki loves biiiiiiiig hugs with Kattumi-chan!"

Takuma paled till he was paper white next to Kaname that night, and I almost choked on my laughter while I hugged the little brunette.

Yeah, it was quite obvious that while I wasn't willing to move according to the whims of another person, I wasn't ever letting those large brown eyes which sparkled every time they gazed up at me fade. This was the same with Takuma, and also with Kaname, to a certain extent.

Sadly, that vow to protect the ones I was close to was soon shattered to pieces by a shockwave of an event; a wave which would afterwards serve as a constant reminder of the sheer danger that the inhabitants of this world were exposed to. Four years after I befriended Takuma and made him into one of MY people, he was snatched away from my hands.

The pages of the manga he'd just bought were flying everywhere, fluttering in the wind like a mock scene of falling flower petals. The moment they touched the ground, their crisp whiteness was stained red, just like the glass shards, sprinkled on the road like bloody snowflakes from when the limousine windows broke.

My face felt wet against the rough tar surface. Head pounding, I slowly opened my eyes to a landscape of disaster. I... was suddenly submerged in a pit of pure fear. This was the same... the same scene I saw back then, the destroyed, overturned car, the blood, the gore; all so similar to that one last image before I was plunged in the never-ending silence of the 'Darkness'.

 _NO._

I blinked furiously, struggling to keep my eyes open and I tried to lift my head. _Ok_ , I sighed, _I wasn't going back there yet. Now onto the present situation. The fuck happened?!_

We were on our way back to the mansion after a shopping trip. Takuma and I were at the back, already reading the latest volume of _Paruto, the Last Samurai_. Yoshida was driving. Everything was normal, but then suddenly we were pirouetting down the road and the tru- _THE TRUCK! We were hit by a fucking truck!_

Oh god, how was I still alive? The entire right side of my head was soaked in blood, but it seemed to be alright. My guts weren't spilling out either and my limbs only had mild gashes here and there. So where was all this blood coming from?

And there came my second heart attack of the night.

 _Takuma._

I looked around wildly, trying desperately to get a glimpse of blond hair. I regained consciousness right next to the shattered limousine and I soon noticed the trail of blood which led to the driver's seat.

 _Oh god Yoshida._

I scrambled towards the limousine and yanked the door open, breaking it off from its frame in my haste. There, I found an unconscious Yoshida, left arm broken, head bleeding and liver pierced with a metal rod. He wasn't dead, but still, the mess was bad. I tried to move him, though in another world that would have been the last thing to do, and succeeded in getting him out of the car without causing much (external) damage.

This situation was bad. Even if vampires could regenerate, they needed blood to do so. And I could empty my body of blood, but it would still not be enough to cure him right now. I needed help.

 _Damn this world and its lack of mobile phones! Aaargh, calm down. I exhaled once. Think. What can you do? Who can help you? Who else is her- OH MY GOD!_

"TAKUMA!"

I ran to the back of the limousine, where the doors had flown off. I looked inside, and there was nothing.

"TAKUMA, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"

I searched everywhere around the car and in the wrecked truck.

"TAKUMA!"

I sent my vampire energy all around the perimeter and checked the whole area around the accident for even a hint of his presence.

"…Takuma?"

Nothing.

Takuma wasn't there anymore. Takuma was missing.

* * *

-3 hours later-

I woke up with a gasp in a hospital room, head mostly clear and limbs completely healed. Asato was sitting on a chair in front of me.

"Speak."

I straightened my posture and told him everything that happened as objectively as I could, reigning in the rising distress that I was feeling. I wasn't supposed to have gone out with them tonight. I was originally assigned to Kaname. But I'd been feeling a nagging... pit-in-the-stomach feeling. Call it a presentiment or whatever, but it was enough for me to leave Kaname safely with Mirai-san in the mansion and to ride the bicycle I usually used to sneak out. I hitched a ride on the main road, and I found Takuma and Yoshida quite easily in the biggest manga library of the town. I breathed a sigh of relief then, when I confirmed that everything was ok.

I shouldn't have.

On the other hand, Takuma wasn't even supposed to leave the house today. He had fixed days for shopping and he was originally supposed to go next week, together with Kaname. His grandfather usually didn't allow changes in schedule, so why today of all things?!

 _No, calm down Katsumi. The 'why' won't help much right now._

I completed my report of the event until the part where I was looking for Takuma, and then I stopped, since I couldn't remember much from then on.

"What happened after-"

"You fell unconscious. One of my patrolling bodyguards received your SOS signal and rushed out to check."

 _SOS...? Oh… the vampire energy I sent out... The mansion was pretty far from where we crashed though… I must have been more out of it than I thought then, to send out rivers of vampire energy to the point I passed out._

I climbed out of the bed and began replacing my weapons into their designed pockets, gun on my hip, sword on my back.

"Where are you going?" Asato asked, as if completely detached from this situation.

"To find him."

"No need. I already sent my best trackers on his trail. They'll find him in no time."

"Still."

"Katsumi Cross." He spoke in a low tone, demanding I stop abruptly gathering my things and listen to him, which I did. "Takuma is my grandson. I trained him. He will be fine even in the hands of the worst killers. The reason why I am here is not him, but you. You do realize how much I do not tolerate incompetence, don't you?"

I breathed out and opened the door. "Fire me if you want. I'm not staying here to listen to you."

His eyebrows raised in mild surprised. "You dare disobey me?"

I didn't reply. Asato might be my boss and one of the most influential vampires of this world, but I already made it clear with him that I was free to disregard his orders whenever. "I was the one to lose him, so I will be the one to find him."

And then I left the room. In the corridor, I saw Kaname, standing and looking at me with an expression of disapproval. I gritted my teeth. Even I knew that I was being unreasonable. The trackers were good at their job, and Takuma could, to a certain extent, take care of himself. But I had this, this incredibly BAD feeling screaming in my gut that was urging me to run to him. And my instinct had helped me out so much before; there was no way I was going to ignore it now.

"I can't leave him to survive on his own right now." I whispered, knowing full well that Kaname could hear me.

The boy, now almost fully grown, huffed out, probably giving up on trying to convince me to not go. "Then I'll go too."

I eyed him blankly. "The old man will kill me if I take you out now."

"You think? I believe he will be overjoyed."

... That might be true. After all, Asato was a fierce supporter of KanamexTakuma. If the pureblood went out of his way to personally look for his grandson, the man was surely going to be 'overjoyed'.

"... Fine, let's go."

Kaname easily kept the pace I set. To even have a chance of finding Takuma, I'd need a car. But I couldn't possibly force another employee to risk his job.

"I can drive, you know."

"You've never rode a bicycle in front of me before, so allow me to doubt that." Besides... no way was I climbing into a car again anytime soon.

No other choice then. I'll have to take one of the S1s.

Ever wondered why Ichio was always seen traveling alone, relaxed in his limousine when he had about ten bodyguards following him everywhere? Well that's what the S1s are for. They're basically bikes that the ninjas use to travel incognito. Except, the S1s don't run on roads, but on spectral waves generated by a filtered version of Vampire energy. Yes, you guessed right, the s in S1 means Spectre and it's cool as hell. And you know what's cooler? Ninjas riding S1 bikes. And you know what's even cooler than cool? Raphael in ninja garb riding his special limited edition S1 bike. Yeah, the epitome of thug life in the VK world bro.

As a fellow bodyguard and especially one who could manipulate vampire energy, I could sense the S1s in the hospital's underground parking. I found them right beside Asato's limo.

"Are we going to ride this?" Kaname asked in disbelief.

"Yep."

"Can we?"

"Why not?"

I had never been allowed to sit on an S1 before, much less ride one. But I believed in the phrase: laws and rules don't apply in emergencies.

I chose one of the small fries' normal S1s, (Raphael would kill me before I even left the parking if I took his) and climbed on. I eyed all the switches and mechanisms in front of me in the same way Kaname was looking at the passenger seat behind me.

Something caught my attention: a tiny prick on the right handle of the bike. Ahah!

"Get on quickly Kaname."

"Would it really not be better for me to take the front seat?"

I eyed him suspiciously. "Have you ever ridden a motorcycle?"

"..."

"I'm sure you never even sat on one." I chucked. "At least, I rode a bicycle once. Now stop worrying, nobody will see us once this starts running."

I waited as he ever so hesitantly placed his royal backside on the passenger seat. As soon as I was sure he wasn't going to fall off, I grabbed his hands and pulled them around me, positioning them on the bikes handles. I still wasn't very big, so I fit fine right behind the dashboard.

"May I know just what you are doing, Katsumi-kun?"

"Just wait, you'll see soon." I pressed his thumb against the tiny prick. I paid no mind to the small hiss which came from behind me. As soon as a small trickle of blood began flowing through the needle, the S1 began revving like an enraged monster.

Purebloods made for great fuel tanks.

I accelerated, keeping us in balance with the help of vampire energy and began thinking of ways to start looking for Takuma.

I knew what his 'soul' felt like. I could always try pulsing my energy across the town and the huge forests surrounding the area to try and locate him. But I'd risk fainting again, so it wasn't a good idea. Then how else... Going back to the accident scene wasn't going to lead anywhere as well; Asato's men would have cleared everything away by now. No choice but to use it then... that thing called... the BRAIN. How would Sherlock Holmes or Mafia badasses proceed in such a situation?

Hmmmmmm. They'd ask themselves 'who are Takuma' s enemies' and things like that. But all of Asato's enemies were Takuma's enemies! No no, not all of Asato's enemies would have known that Takuma was going to be out tonight. Come to think of it, Takuma's schedule wasn't even like usual tonight... So planned attacks were out. Which meant that the kidnapping was an 'on the spot' plan. Huh? Who'd be able to do that? None of Asato's enemies were capable of putting together such a well-planned ambush without me or Yoshida sensing something. Then who... I didn't know, but it made the pit in my stomach widen by inches.

"Katsumi-kun" Kaname suddenly whispered in my right ear, making me clamp my hands on the brakes until we came to a full stop.

I whirled my head around and glared at him. "Da fuck are you doing, Kaname?!"

The boy backed away a little before replying, face as expressionless as ever. "I sense a pureblood nearby." My blood never drained this fast away from my face. Kaname continued, "It's blurred, so they are probably trying to camouflage it somehow. But I can still affirm that it's a pureblood."

... Shit.

I revved the engine again. "Where?"

"Two streets away. On our right."

And we were off once more.

 _Please don't let it be who I think this is. Please God please don't let it be_ _ **HER**_ _._

Kaname whispered in my ear again to signal our stop about 5 mins of full speed S1 riding later. I didn't comment this time.

We got off in front of a big cathedral-like building.

If Kaname could sense the other pureblood, maybe he/she could sense us as well. Or not. I didn't know how this pureblood business worked and I didn't have time to ask.

I breathed out. _Ok Katsumi. This is a rescue operation. There is a specific way to conduct this. So you can't just rush in like how you usually do._ I took another, better look at the building. Windows too high to infiltrate, can try back alley but not sure. I motioned for Kaname to follow me as I led the both of us as quietly as I could towards the back of the building. Strangely enough, no guards were around.

"... This might be a trap." I whispered to Kaname.

"Other purebloods cannot sense me, if that is what you are fearing."

"Is that so? Well even if that is the case, they could have detected us already." Also, if the trail was really so close to the hospital, Asato's men should already be present. They might have found Takuma by now, but I wasn't leaving things to "maybe"s.

"I'm going to try and see if there are guards behind this door. Stay very close to me. If they can somehow sense energy like I do, we might be attacked on the spot."

"Wait!"Kaname grabbed me suddenly by the arm, turning me around to face him. "You can actually feel energy?"

I frowned. Wasn't that common knowledge already? And pulling me like that, where were this boy's manners?! "Yes, I can. For what reason do you think I was in the hospital in the first place?"

"...No... It's just... Not many people can do that..."

"Well I can. And so can you, by the way."

"No. My ability is limited to purebloods."

"Well whatever, now is not the time. Get behind me."

I pulsed a thin wave of vampire energy around the area. It wasn't a tracking device, so I couldn't exactly know who was where etc... If I didn't know the people well, I could only vaguely sense them around a room, just like the time with Ichio's guards.

"Great. There's no one in there. We can get in." I grabbed Kaname's hand from behind me and opened the heavy metal door. It wasn't locked. The room inside was small and bare. There was nothing except for another door, already open, leading to a long, dark corridor. But as soon as we advanced down the hallway, the metallic door behind us closed with a bang. I jumped, briskly dragging Kaname away from the door. "What was that?" I whispered. This was really beginning to veer into a horror movie scene. I heard a swishing sound as something passed right above us. I spotted an open door at the end of the corridor. "Let's not stay here." I told Kaname, moving towards the door. "Unknown enemies that we can't see are too dangerous." But something caught my eye as we neared the next room. Small knives littered the ground, their metallic surface gleaming in the dim light. A slight breeze stirred some dust particles in the air. _No... not dust... ash._

I slammed us against the wall of the hallway as the unknown presence suddenly jumped at us in a beastly movement, landing roughly on its limbs in the field of small knives. The vampire had a long, tattered scarf around his neck and his bloodstained mouth. Everything designated it to be a level E. But the Ichijo insignia at the end of the scarf clearly denied that.

"The tracker..."

"He must be under the control of the pureblood." Kaname stated, slipping his hand out of mine to straighten his coat. "The other person has very amateur control over their powers though."

"What makes you think so?" I asked, grabbing back onto his hand.

"This overdose of control over a man's brain is nothing but destructive." God I felt sick. I could only hope and hope against everything that Takuma was safe.

I eyed the tracker in front of us, who was currently scrambling around like a madman to pick up his knives. "We don't have time for this. He can't be saved, right?"

"No, he's too far gone."

"Then to hell with compassion." I took my Katana out of its sheath and cut his head off in a smooth motion. The tracker dissolved in a mass of burning ashes. The knives he'd been throwing at me left a few scratches on my limbs, the only trace of blood in the dark massacre of the room.

"You shouldn't have let him cut you."

Indeed, this will blow our already non-existent cover. But still, "If the scent of my blood can help protect Takuma a bit longer, then I'm willing to use it to distract the enemy." I didn't bother sheathing the sword; I'd need it soon enough. "We're going to be moving quickly since we're not pretending to be incognito anymore. Can you run?"

Kaname nodded, and that was all I needed to set off. If it was really who I thought it was, then there was a slight chance that Takuma was still safe; just slight.

I led us deeper into the building, down the lower floors, stirring up ashes at every corner.

Then I saw him.

He was sitting, head bent on a big armchair. "Takuma!"

"Don't!" Kaname pulled on my arm to keep me behind. "He's not in control."

"Let go of me, Kaname. If they invaded his head, then all the more reason to hurry!"

"Things are a bit more complicated with Takuma, Katsumi-kun. If they tried to strip his mind of self-control like with the tracker, this could be extremely dangerous. For both him and you."

Squinting, I could indeed see the dark matter that was emanating from him as he gripped the border of the chair. It was a wonder how it wasn't broken yet. "Then what now? We can't leave him like this."

"You can" a girly voice spoke up, "and that is exactly what you are going to do." And there she was, slowly walking out from behind the chair Takuma was sitting on. She was slightly taller than me, dressed in a Lolita style. Sara Shirabuki. "I didn't know that he already belonged to a pureblood. It does not matter. He's mine now."

"Shirabuki-san." Kaname spoke up, shifting me behind him. "Please accept our apologies for intruding on your property in this manner. But this boy is my precious friend and we are here to take him back."

"You say that with such ease, Kuran-sama. Your servant just massacred my lovely family. A friend is a good price to pay for my loss."

While Kaname continued to play vocal ping pong with the Shirabuki psycho, I sent a thin stream of energy towards Takuma. I could feel his struggle and the pressure that his wild power was exerting on the air. The couch was even beginning to crumble off, the frame slowly disintegrating into a light halo made of small red particles. But I wasn't a noble vampire. I could do nothing else with just energy. I had to get to closer to him. And even then, what would I be able to do? I had no psychic mental power like these purebloods. I couldn't undo wounds like this. This wasn't even supposed to have happened in the first place... When did the course of the story shift? What did I do to provoke this?!

I mentally slapped myself. Shut the fuck up, Katsumi. You messed up alright, but you can still mend this. Focus, dammit!

"... to you, then I have another deal to propose."

"And what would that be?" God, Kaname had conversed with her for what, two minutes? He already sounded exhausted.

Sara met my eyes briefly, "If you give me your human servant, I may consider returning Takuma back to you."

 _YES!_

"I refuse." Kaname immediately replied. "Do you have any other suggestions?"

I grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to the back of the room. "DA FUCK, KANAME?!" I whispered as loudly as I could. "This is a golden opportunity to get him back. What are you being all sissy for?!"

"I cannot possibly put you in danger to save Takuma, Katsumi-kun."

"Shut up! You don't have to protect me. I'm not Yuuki, you understand? Takuma is degrading with each passing second. The time is not for lengthy negotiations."

"Katsumi-kun!" he grabbed me by the shoulders, shaking me slightly. "This is not a joking matter. You may die, or worse..."

…Awwww, look at him being all worried about me. I had raised him well. I was proud. I could be happy that I had done one thing well in this world. Aah, forget it, I wasn't going to leave this quickly. I smiled, "Don't worry, Kaname. I won't be gone for long." To Sara, I said, "We agree to the exchange. Please free Takuma and take me in his place."

Sara didn't even glance at me. "I did not realize that you were such a poor dog trainer, Kuran-sama. Please order her to refrain from addressing me like so."

Ok, this servant thing was beginning to grate on my nerves. I wanted to retort, but doing that would just make us lose precious time. So I shut my mouth and let them handle things.

"What have you decided?" she asked him.

I could sense Kaname stiffening behind me, "... I accept your deal."

"Very well. Tell the girl to come over."

I made a move towards her, but Kaname halted me. "Should you not give Takuma to us first?"

"I am currently in control of the game, Kuran-sama. I dictate what should happen, and when. First, the servant."

I shifted Kaname's arm aside and walked towards her. The more I advanced, the more I could feel her pulling on my consciousness. It wasn't subtle in any sense. It was vicious, like she wanted to completely devour my soul. I tried to resist, thanking my long hours of meditation for being able to cast a protective barrier around my brain. But unfortunately, the one in front of me was a pureblood. She stripped me bare of vampire energy in an instant. And I fell into darkness.

.

.

.

.

I panicked.

The only thing preventing me from going crazy was the thought "This is all for Takuma." I repeated it like a mantra against the negatives plaguing my head.

 _No. Anything but this again!_

"This is all for Takuma."

 _There's nothing nothing nothing nothing_

"This is all for Takuma."

 _Fuck this, fuck everything! I don't want to stay here!_

"This is all for Takuma. This is all for Takuma. This is all for –

 _Who is Takuma?_

I suddenly felt extremely cold.

Was this... the end?

"Sshhh... "

 _WHO IS THERE?!_ I felt myself roaring out in the darkness. I was nothing now, but a mass of wild energy. This space was supposed to be mine and mine alone. So who had dared trespass in this place?!

I couldn't sense them, though I could swear that I was had not imagined that sound.

"I am merely a part of your consciousness. I can help you remember."

"GO AWAY!"

"I can't go away. If you don't listen to me nicely, I will have to resort to violence."

"FUCK YOU! I'LL TEAR YOU TO PIE-"

*slap*

This was probably the most tangible mental slap I had ever administered upon myself.  
Unfortunately, I wasn't one to come to my senses when I was hit. I was the "a face for an eye" type of person.

"HOW DARE YOU!?"

"Attacking me is useless. You don't have enough mental prowess to cause harm yet."

"SHUT UP!"

"Listen to me, Katsumi."

"Waaargh!"

"Liste- DO YOU WANT TO FUCKING STAY HERE FOREVER?!"

 _.. Huh?_

"…Can I go out?"

"Yes. I can help you. But you need to calm down first."

"I AM CA- I mean, I am calm."

"... We don't have much time, so this much will do. I am going to launch a poisonous essence into your brain to repel the power of the girl. It will hurt this body temporarily, since it's not the one I-we used to have. You need to prepare for the pain."

"What body? Who are-"

"We don't have time for your questions. Just keep in mind that we are the same soul. I am just a rendition of some past memories that you can't recall. It's normal to be confused. But don't try to look for me. You will be extremely lucky if we never meet again. Now, ready for the shot?"

"You're really speaking nonsense. What memo-"

"I don't care anymore. I already told you, so here goes-"

And damn did it hurt. Pain seared through my head in the highest pitch imaginable. It felt like the sting of a thousand wasps, like all your teeth began aching all at once, like my brain was being pierced with hundreds of big needles until it became numb. At the moment the pain became too much to bear, it began to fade out. I began to feel again. I felt my hands and I moved my fingers. Then I opened my eyes.

I was lying in Kaname's arms and he was looking down at me with a mixture of shock and relief.

"... Am I in hell?"

"Don't be silly, Katsumi-kun. You are not dead."

I looked around. We were in a dark room. A girl was kneeling on the floor, hands on her head. Dust waves were raging next to her. In the middle of the storm, a boy with blond hair- _TAKUMA!_

 _Oh yes, I remember now._

"What happened?! Wasn't she supposed to give him back?"

"She did. But he lost control over himself."

I got to my feet, in full shape again. Sara was still reeling from the 'poison' and Takuma was half standing, half sitting on plain air, the couch he'd been on having disintegrated into a cloud of dust.

 _Enough is enough._ If Kaname's method wasn't working, then we'd do it my way.

I strode towards Sara, grabbed her by the collar and swung her against the closest wall. I held her face so that her eyes were facing mine. "Help him."

"I can't. I already relinquished my control. He is just too weak for his own power."

I wanted to kill her. I was barely restraining myself from slapping her as hard as I could. I felt Kaname pull me back gently. "Even I cannot help him at the moment, Katsumi-kun. We can only wait and see if he can pull himself back together."

But he was only degenerating.

"And if he can't? Do we just watch him self-destruct? There has to be something we can do! One thing- ok. There is one thing I haven't tried yet."

I walked towards Takuma, using my sword as a shield. It began to chip away as I got closer, "Takuma! It's me, Katsumi! You're not in danger anymore, so please calm down!"  
Seriously, what was I thinking? Even the most heartfelt words wouldn't help him right now.

Then fuck it all.

I released my vampire energy full force on Takuma, enveloping him with it. I felt my consciousness sway for a bit, but I held on. This gleaming blue-white aura had saved me lots of times before. This was the last thing I could think of to suppress his power.

Only the handle of my sword was left, and my hands were beginning to get redder. I used the protection of my aura to get closer and closer. When I was right in front of him, I could barely stand. The concentration of energies clashing was very potent. I grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled us on our knees. The floor cracked under the pressure. Damn, this was strong. I was out of breath. I rested my chin on his shoulder and whispered in his ear. "Takuma. Go to sleep." Then I hit his neck.

The energy dissipated immediately. I fell to the ground, feeling extremely uncomfortable with the lack of energy, but extremely relieved. Takuma was safe. I had fulfilled my duty as a bodyguard. I had held my promise to Ichio. My head was zinging, I felt like throwing up and my skin was itching after the radiation from Takuma. Plus, he was quite heavy and he was lying over me in a mass of sticky dead weight. Kaname, my savior, gently pulled him off me, asking if I was ok. He took off his jacket and propped us both on it, against the closest wall. I looked around slightly, but Sara had left the building a while ago.

"I sent a messenger to the main house. They should be here soon."

Messenger? Oh… he probably meant one of his crow-thingies.

I couldn't reply to him, I was drifting out already.

Kaname placed his hand over my eyes, blocking away the stunningly aggressive dim light. "You can leave the rest to me Katsumi-kun," he whispered. "I promise that I will take of everything."

I would have never believed that there would be a day when I would trust Kaname's words this much. I immediately relaxed, letting a comfortable feeling of sleep take over my mind and body. Just before I completely shut down, I heard him whisper again. "Thank you. Thank you for saving him, and for saving yourself… always… prote….

…

* * *

"…a whim?"

"Yes. She most probably saw him when he was out in town that night and decided that she wanted to 'take him. She planned the accident and the follow-up kidnapping on the spot. Her servants were so addicted to her that they obeyed without thinking."

"And where is she now?"

"We don't know. She disappeared and I did not bother tracking her since she cannot harm us anymore. She will probably not appear in front of us for a long time, especially since she knows that you are under my protection."

"Are we?"

"I do not appreciate your humorless attempts at making insensitive jokes, Katsumi-kun."

"It's fine, I was just kidding." I huffed, taking a sip from the glass of water in my hands to clear my dry throat. Three days had passed since the incident. We were currently at the hospital. I woke up just a few hours ago while Takuma had regained consciousness earlier in the day. Yoshida was still in bandages, but he was ok now. A group of ninja bodyguards guarded our rooms all throughout the last few days and Ichio was finally here today to take his grandson and employees back, well, apart from me. I still had to stay for one last night in the hospital, since they had pumped my body with anesthetics and I don't know what other medicines to help heal the skins burns and the concussion (because I had apparently gotten one in the midst of all that mess).

Seriously though… this had been one of the most dangerous events I had gone through in my entire lifetime. And to say that it was just a fluke, just because Takuma had suddenly decided to change his shopping schedule on that night… all because he wanted to buy me a present for my birthday… my fucking birthday… heh… I had messed up.

"Do not blame yourself, Katsumi-kun. Without your insistence on going out to find him on your own, we would have never known, until it would have been too late, that he was in the hands of a pureblood. Even Ichio-san told you so." Yes, he did come by my room earlier to thank me in the most dignified way he could… What was the use for that though, if I was the reason why this happened in the first place?

… _Ok no. That's enough now. Remember the most important_. _Kaien_. What happened this time with Takuma might have been much worse had I not chosen to be at his side. I was already in this world, and my presence alone was enough to cause certain changes. If I decided to take a cup of coffee instead of tea, it would probably cause some ripples somewhere. The only thing to do was to man up and to face these changes. I wasn't the God of this world. I didn't have to bear any heavy burden. I just had to protect those who were close to me. And that was exactly what I was doing.

"Oh Takuma. Are you going already?" Kaname asked, taking me out of my internal guilt roller-coaster. I glanced towards the door to see a sight that made me go 'Oh noooo, not agaaaaain'. Takuma was standing in the doorway, his public smile on his face, not looking at me. That old man had probably pressured him into keeping an emotional distance between the both of us. I was going to have to undo this painful mask again…

I opened my mouth to tell him to come in so we could talk, but he cut into my sentence. "Yes. I am leaving with Grandfather. Will you come with us too?"

Kaname glanced at me, probably sensing the rising rage I was feeling. The ungrateful brat and his brainwashing grandpa… Why would he do that though? I had saved his grandchild, so technically, he'd want me to stay by Takuma's side more, right? What in hell was happening?

"Takuma, I need to talk to you."

"I am sorry. I have to go." He backed away from the door.

"If you snub me once more, Takuma, I swear that I will stalk you to the ends of your toilet. You know I can do it." He halted at the door for a bit. "Come in." I said, sighing when he made no move. I kicked off the white hospital sheets and strode towards him. I was only wearing a thin hospital robe, but I couldn't care less. I grabbed his face and forced him to look down at me. "Look at me, for Heaven's sake! I am fine, you see?"

He roughly pulled his away from my hands. "You healed this time. It doesn't mean that you will get out with just some scratches if it happens again."

"I fought off a pureblood for you, Takuma. Why are you thanking me by turning our back to me again?"

"This is for your own good." He straightened his coat, face colder than the coldest ice Hanabusa could mold. I bit my lip, raising my hand to hit some sense into him, but Kaname grabbed my wrist in mid-air, pulling me away from Takuma. "He has already taken his decision, Katsumi-kun. Any more than this, and things will get out of control between you two." He whispered in my ear. I pulled myself free and grabbed onto Takuma's collar. "Tell me, Takuma! You really think this is the right thing to do?! You don't wanna be friends anymore?!"

"I- I can't" He said, ripping my hands off his clothes.

"You know I won't give up so easily, so why are you making this difficult for the both of us?"

"That's enough, Katsumi!" he yelled, face still turned away from me. That was the first time Takuma had raised his voice at me. I jumped, backing away slightly. "Please realise that some things are just not meant to be. You can continue to be a bodyguard if you wish to, but please do not seek my friendship anymore. I will only end up hurting you, both accidentally and intentionally."

… what was he saying? If his grandpa hadn't talked him into this, then what had happened for him to think like this? This was a lot more serious that those last times… Haha… this couldn't be happening…

"… Are you being serious, Taku-chan?" I sighed out.

He nodded. I could only see his hair and his chin, his eyes weren't visible at all...

"Then one last question. You went out that night to buy me a present, right? For my birthday. Where is it?"

I waited for the answer, the pit in my stomach already inches wide and feet deep. He completely turned away from me then, stiffening. He answered as I expected, "I threw it away."

Then he left the hospital, leaving a teary-eyed me and Kaname behind.

…

.

.

.

.

.

The idiot.

As if I hadn't seen the packet that he'd hidden securely in his coat.

* * *

-o-m-a-k-e-

~~when Katsumi was going crazy in the Darkness~~

His outside front was calm, but Kaname's tightened fists were drawing blood from his palms inside his pocket jackets. He shouldn't have agreed to it. He should never have even told her about this place. Had he just led Katsumi on a false trail and come here by himself, things would have been a lot less messy. It was too late now.

"You have her now. Release Takuma."

"Very well." The child pureblood turned to Takuma and relinquished her control. However, his raging power could not be stopped anymore. "You can have him now. He was too troublesome for me anyways. Instead, I am going to turn this girl into my puppet, my most loyal servant. Do you wish to look as I turn her into a level E, Kuran-sama?"

He could not anymore. His vampire energy raged around the hall, engulfing the crazy girl. "You should be more respectful when talking to your elders, insignificant child." He uttered, his voice low and his eyes gleaming red. Sara Shirabuki was a bit overwhelmed by this sudden release of power. He could see it in her expression. He was expecting her to retaliate and the moment she drew closer, he would kill her and absorb her powers. Killing a pureblood at this stage might create a dent in his plans for Yuuki, but he was not going to just stand still and watch as Katsumi became bound to this person, who would never hesitate to use her in the worst ways possible. However, Kaname had not predicted the girl to attack her by using Katsumi's body. The small frame of his friend turned towards him slowly, her brilliant purple eyes now dull beyond imagination. He let her run at him in a slightly crooked way. He let her claw at his clothes, her limbs so energy-less that she could do absolutely no damage. He let her take his face in her hands, let her fingers weakly roam on his features. Then, at the moment he lifted one of his hands from his coat's pockets to stop her pitiful attack, her body fell limp and he could only halt her fall by folding his knees under her. In the distance, he heard Sara scream, but he paid her no mind. He gently cradled one of the only precious people he had left in this world apart from Yuuki and he watched with amazement as her eyes briefly shone brown before closing. This was the second time that night that he was noticing these strange things about Katsumi. He did not have to check for her pulse. He could already feel that her heart was beating at an abnormally fast rate. He was prepared. If this was the last thing he could resort to to protect her, then he would not hesitate. He pushed the collar of her leather jacket back to expose her neck, but he stopped as his gaze met shining purple eyes.

"… Am I in hell?"

* * *

 **Aaaaand that's it for now. I am already working on the next chapter, and as promised, I will make sure to post it as soon as possible. Don't forget to tell me what you think about the development in this chapter via the reviews! Please remember that the characters also have a mind of their own and they sometimes decide to do and to feel things really suddenly, so I have to replan and reorganise a lot of things T-T. Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed it :D See you soon 3**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: See? I'm back with a new chapter as promised. Ain't I awesome?**

 **Now, I want to thank all those who reviewed and favourited, followed the story. *w* I love you all 3**

 **Since this story is approaching its one year anniversary (already!), I thought about giving you guys special treatment. So behold this chapter which contains three omakes and one extremely anticipated doki-doki scene! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 13

It turned out that Ichio had indeed not told Takuma to stay away from me. He hadn't done anything. The moment I reached the mansion on the following day, I was called to his office and I was rewarded with a week-long vacation. I returned home during that time and I couldn't talk to the brat at all. I spent my first days lazing about in Kaien's (my) living room, brooding over my brooding friend. Then I eventually cheered up, since, you know, Kaien was there. I played with Yuuki a lot in the following days. We rollerbladed along the vast corridors of the main school building, which was almost completely done. We also went shopping in town together with Kaien and I was seriously overjoyed when I saw that she had no fear; Yuuki wasn't scared of going into town. She was not reserved or anxious at all. We even told her to go buy a few candies at the grocery store while we pretended to wait two streets down (we were actually observing her from a distance, we had hawk eyes) and she did not hesitate at all, did not whimper, did nothing but smile and skip her way along both to and from the store. Kaien and I shared a gaze of pride at that moment. I could seriously not regret my decisions at all. Everything was dreamy. Well, apart from that obvious thing going on with Takuma, but he was an idiot and I'd deal with him later. Right then, I was intent on enjoying my holiday week. On a few nights, I assisted in Yuuki's martial arts training and I think I might have impressed her even more during my match with Kaien. Anyways, that week was awesome and I felt really happy. I left with a large smile on my face, freshly baked cakes in my bag and warm memories in my heart.

Then time passed. Two months to be exact.

During that time, I tried to approach Takuma again. He constantly brushed me off. He relented a bit when I tackled him to the ground once, blushing furiously and resorting to normal language, but he sealed his expression back in after that. He was like that only to me though. He was as usual to his maids and he clung to Kaname on an almost daily basis. It was like seeing him go through a rebellious phase! After a few weeks, I relented my fierce attempts and just let things take a calmer shape between us. He was simply unenthusiastic, as if he wanted to keep a certain control over his emotions despite not wanting to. I hated it, and when he saw that I was about to crack, he did some small things, like the time he pushed his cheese cake towards me to eat; as if to remind me that he was not actually mad at me; as if this was only temporary. I was seriously confused.

Then I did something that I probably should not have waited two whole months before doing. I went to ask Ichio what the fuck was going on with his grandson.

"I have no idea."

?

I was standing in front of his desk, watching with an increasingly confused face as Asato looked at me with his ultimate 'I don't know' face.

"Even I find his behaviour strange. I can also assure you that I never told him to stay away from you. On the contrary, I encourage your friendship and I talked to Takuma several times concerning this subject."

…Somehow, this was starting to make sense… "…can I know what you told Takuma during those… conversations, Ichijo-sama?"

"I told him that he should cherish you more since you are one of his precious friends. I also remember that the night you rescued him, I specifically told him to continue keeping you by his side. I am seriously perplexed over the rebellious attitude of that boy."

Aaaaand bingo. So this was what happened. Ichio just had to butt in and tell Takuma to stay close to me. Takuma, thinking that he was being manipulated into befriending me like he was ordered to do with Kaname, decided to do the exact opposite instead. Such a messed up family, really. I let out a long 'haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh'. So all this time, he'd been rebelling against his granpa? Was that it? No, if that was it, then he would have told me in secret that 'Hey, I am rebelling against my old man. Don't mind it if I don't talk to you in public'. But no, he didn't say that. He instead decided to go all out and close off completely. Ichio's comment might have been the instigator, but there was a part I was missing here. _Oh well, no other way to go about this. I just have to confront Takuma._ Which was exactly what I did.

"Excuse me?"

"I said: if you are staying away from me because your old man told you to get closer, then why didn't you say so?"

I had ambushed him outside of his violin class. His professor was still gathering his materials inside and he lifted his head to see what was making 'so much noise pollution!' Yoshida was also there, but he'd politely decided to completely ignore us by fading into the background. Takuma, who now towered over me, pulled me aside a bit and spoke in low tones. "I don't understand what you are saying. I did not stop staying away from you because of Grandfather."

"Then whyyyy, for fuck's sa-nmpf!"

"Sshh!" He covered my mouth with his cashmere cardigan. Oh yes, if I hadn't said so earlier, Takuma also refrained from touching me and from saying my name as much as possible. "Quiet down, will you? As I have told you, it is for your own good. Now please move aside. I need to go to my next lesson."

"Cut the crap. We both know that I'm not moving until I get a satisfactory answer." I said, pushing the cardigan out of the way.

"Fine then. You can just continue staying here and talking to the wall. I am leaving."

I hmpfed. "I know that you hid the birthday present from a year ago into your super-secret locked drawer where you also keep your limited edition copy of the first volume of Twokick Man." I said coolly, pretending to examine my nails in the classic 'I know your weakness' posture.

Takuma replied in a level, but still surprised voice, "Please refrain from trespassing into my room in the future, and I will forget about this incident."

"I also know that you play with it sometimes when you miss me." This triggered a better reaction. His face flushed red and his legs began to shake a bit. Had been a while since I'd seen embarrassed Takuma. I missed this so much… "Why don't you just give it to me so we can make up already? It's been two months… I am tired of this game, Taku-chan. Let's end it, ok?"

Takuma lost it. "You don't understand anything! I said no! Can't you just not pay attention to me anymore?!"

"We'll both be unhappy if I do that! Why are you being so emo? That's Kaname's role!" _Ok good, instigation of a verbal fight = success!_

"I am not being emo! What does that even mean?! Anyways, no means no, alright?! Now leave me alone!"

"NO, I WON'T! What will you do about it, huh?" I was riling him up, which probably wasn't a very good idea, but I couldn't care less anymore. Endure it, endure it, be patient, be patient, well not anymore!

Takuma's face twisted in * _cute_ * fury and he pinched my arm. He literally pinched my arm and it actually hurt. "Oww!" He then smiled his glowing, public smile and said, "Please refrain from spying on me from now on, alright?"

"No you idiot! I won't! I know what you are trying to do! You are seriously just being emo, wanting to punish yourself just because of some minor scratches I got. Are you seriously dumb?! I am the one you are punishing in all this! Can't you realise it already?!"

"She is right, Takuma-sama." The professor quickly interjected.

"Thank you, Professor Itou."

"You are most welcome," the usually cranky man said, rushing past with his enormous pile of sheet music.

"You see, even he thinks that you're going overboard. Now come on, let's hug and forget about this weird period of time in which I had to put up with conversing with only Kaname." I moved towards him, arms outstretched, but he backed away. God. Fine. Last thing. If this didn't work, I was giving up. "Takuma, try to hurt me with your power."

His eyes widened as he backed away even more. "Wha-"

"I am sorry, Katsumi-chan." Yoshida intervened, coming to stand in front of Takuma. "This is going too far."

I ignored him and continued talking. "This is what you're most afraid of, right? Of losing control of your power, which will ultimately end up hurting me. But you know what, there are a thousand things more dangerous than you out there Takuma. You will never be able to hurt me. I waited all this time because I was being considerate towards your feelings. I was trying to let you see things for yourself so we could resolve this without having to resort to this method."

"Katsumi-chan!" Yoshida weakly tried to bar my way as I approached Takuma. I let out a slight wave of vampire energy to fuel the menacing atmosphere I was creating.

"Have you ever seen me fight, Taku-chan? Have you ever seen me cold-bloodedly slice the heads of professionally trained assassins who were specifically sent to kill you? Do you know who I am?" I stood right in front of him, pulling his body down to my level in a swift movement. "I can hurt you if I want to, Takuma. But you can never hurt me. If you don't agree, then try with all your might."

Takuma was in shock. I was giving him a very cruel version of who I was, a person whom he had never actually seen before. His legs gave way under him and I let go of him so that he fell below my level. "…you don't know…"

"I don't know what you could do if you lost control? Well I stopped you when you lost control before, so who says I can't do it again?"

His eyes widened, surprising me a bit. "What…? That's impossible!"

…huh? "What? You mean you don't know?!"

"What do you mean I don't know?"

Huh?! Da fuck was happening?! I dropped my intimidating act immediately, crouching down to face Takuma. "Can you tell me exactly what you know about what happened last time?"

"Eh? Well…"

…

"Kaname!" I banged the door to his room wide open, spotting the bastard reading on his armchair, Mirai-san standing in a corner as an accessory as usual. "Why did you omit to tell Takuma about the fact that I was the one who stopped him?! He kept on thinking that I was a fucking damsel in distress the whole time and that I would break if he even touched me!"

Kaname just lifted his eyes from the book, not at all disturbed by what I was telling him. "Oh, did you finally talk to him about that?" he asked, voice as level as ever.

"Yes, and we even made up afterwards. Now tell me, why did you even do that?!"

He gazed back down at his book. "That was merely a test of your relationship."

…"Tell me this is a joke."

"Absolutely not. I needed to know whether Takuma is as devoted to you as you are to him. My assessment is positive. You can safely continue to be friends with him."

I punched him in the face, hard enough to leave a red mark, but not hard enough to throw him out of the chair. "This is for lying to Takuma and for creating unnecessary trouble for me. If you dare do that again, I will punch you somewhere which hurts way more than your face, understood?"

Then I left the room, hearing just one last piece of conversation before I got out of range:

"Not a word of this to anyone, Mirai-san."

"Of course, Kuran-sama."

After that, things went pretty smoothly. Contrary to the normal reaction that one would have in these circumstances, Takuma did not get angry at Kaname for lying to him. When I asked him why, he told me "Oh, don't worry. I just remembered that he did the same thing to Grandfather when we became friends." I did not ask for further explanations.

However, even if Takuma stopped avoiding me, Kaname continued to… well… 'stick' to me. I did not mind it much in fact, I just found his behaviour strange. After all, he suddenly began attending my weekly training sessions with Raphael, began pestering me about trying his poetry books and began buying me all sorts of weird things. Imagine the shock I got when I returned to my room one night to find a whole cupboard of Lolita dresses complete with shimmering accessories and heeled slippers. Thinking that it was a joke from the seamstress again, I barged into her workroom to ask about it. She told me that it was Kaname's demand.

"I just hoped you would wear them." He'd said. "They will definitely look good on you." And just so I did not refuse them, he'd cleverly added, "I had them especially made as a gift for you birthday."

"You creepy pervert." That was all I'd said to him before stashing all of the dresses as deeply as possible into my closet. Even Yuuki didn't want them. I wore them only once. On Kaname's birthday. When the jerk emotionally blackmailed me into wearing one of them to the party given in his honour. Afterwards, I donated all of them to a girls' orphanage. I quickly got used to his quirks though, so after three years, I had learned to give him a list of things I did not want. He however still found a way to find things that were not on the list, and my room gradually filled with strange and annoying gifts that I sometimes found weirdly useful.

Anyways- Oh! You must be wondering about this sudden time skip, but yes. Three years passed quite quickly at the Ichio mansion. I grew up, and by that I meant that HELL YEAH I WAS TALLER THAN YUUKI. I thanked my late parents' genes for that; my mother in this world hadn't seemed all that short when standing beside my father after all. Except that it did not make much difference when standing next to the giants that Takuma and Kaname had become. At 15, they both towered over me so much that I had to stand on a chair (a slightly lower than normal chair, but a chair still) to meet them eye-to-eye. But yeah, nothing too extraordinary happened in those years. I improved my sword handling and shooting skills quite a lot. Raphael and I were at about the same level in terms of martial arts now. I could never beat him at shooting, but I could definitely stand my ground with him in a simulation match. This did not mean that I grew stronger than him though. He also improved a lot, so he was always slightly stronger than me. Apart from that, I also thought a lot about the voice I'd heard last time. I was in fact quite afraid to hear it again. What if I went crazy? What if it took control of my body and I became trapped in my own head?! Thinking those thoughts, I never tried to search for it. Even when I was meditating, I tried not to wander too much. And in the end, I never heard it again.

But yes, that was how things went. I strengthened my friendship with Takuma and Kaname, I bonded with the other bodyguards, I killed several other assassins who were stupidly confident enough to think they could sneak into the Ichijo grounds while everyone was sleeping to try and kidnap/murder/do something else to Kaname and Takuma. I even earned a nickname because of my growing popularity (really though, it was annoyance and fear) in the Vampire Society: the Unnamed Angel. I was confused at first, and embarrassed as well (angel was such a cheesy nickname!). Why was it angel, and why was it unnamed?! Then Kaname explained to me that the Unnamed Angel was an actual angel who killed an army in one night. Alone. This… well… had various effects on me. It felt a bit awkward to be known as, basically, a killer. However, Kaien dismissed all negative feelings about this name with one word. Protector. The Unnamed Angel was a protector. At that moment, it was like being awarded the Oscar for the Best Bodyguard. I blushed every single time a person called me by that name ever since. It was a bit less now, since I had somehow gotten used to it. But it was pretty damn awesome. (Please wait a few seconds as I get this heat off my face)

Yes. Anyways, I changed my work clothes quite a lot during that time, both because I grew out of my usual ones and because I wanted to try new styles. Currently, I was fascinated with the Tomb Raider style, which I had suddenly seen while shopping with the boys. Of course, they didn't have Tomb Raider here, but the clothes were pretty similar. Tight pants, tank top, solid boots, shirt around the waist, leather straps and details, hair in a ponytail… Yeah, that just rhymed. It was perfect for spring and summer, AND I got a thumbs up from Raphael for the style. Needed nothing more.

So that was it. That was how three years passed after my first and last fight with a Pureblood (Kaname didn't count, Yuuki even less).

Oh well, I instinctively knew that this peaceful and positive way things were running wasn't going to last. I was 13 (going on 14) when I received another one of my biggest shocks. It was a summer night, we were visiting Yuuki and Kaien. I was perched on the kitchen counter, sipping some nice Earl Grey tea. Kaname was standing next to me, Takuma beside him and Kaien in front of us.

"I am opening the Moon Dorms." Kaien announced, earning a spitful of tea on his face, which he smilingly wiped away with a handkerchief.

"Already?!" I asked, pushing Kaname's hand trying to wipe my mouth clean away. This was so sudden! I knew that Kaien and Kaname discussed a lot about this subject while I played with Yuuki when we came to visit (Takuma didn't come often), but still…

"Yes. I think it's best to begin recruiting students for the Night Class before opening the Day Class to the public."

… I kind of remembered that the Night Class had already begun staying on the school grounds for about two-three years before the Day Class, but I had kind of completely forgotten about that, thinking that there was still a lot of time before the cannon plot actually started.

…Speaking of which… Where the fuck was Zero?

I paled, glancing at Kaname who had begun discussing details with Kaien. According to my unreliable memory, Zero had already been adopted by Kaien before Kaname began staying in the Moon Dorm. We-well, technically, there was still time for that to happen. "Wh-when are they supposed to move in?"

"Next week!" Kaien chirped.

… maybe not so much time after all.

Seriously though, what had happened? Had he changed plans? Wasn't he going to use Zero anymore?! If so, I was quite happy since that meant we had one less tragedy on our hands, but… Things were going to be unpredictable now.

… Oh well -_- . We'll deal with it.

I heard a noise coming from the door. Yuuki had dropped her sweets on the ground and was staring at us, stars in her eyes. "Does this mean… that Katsumi-nee and Kaname-nii will be staying here now?"

"Well, technically, they'll be staying close to here, but I'm sure that we will get to see them a lot more often now."

"This is so awesome!"

"I know right!" Kaien squealed, joining hands together with Yuuki to jump around in circles, kind of like a joy-dance. Looking at them, I smiled, once again strongly feeling that whatever happened, things would be fine as long as these two stayed like this. Yeah, we'll deal with the unknown future just fine.

* * *

"Cross, I am assigning you as Takuma and Kaname-sama's exclusive personal bodyguard."

Saw that coming. As it was usually the case for official announcements, I was standing in front of Ichio's desk in his office. This was our last night at the Ichijo main house and we had gotten news of Mirai and Yoshida's transfer two days ago. They had been re-assigned to guard some of Ichio's high ranking office workers. I had seen them sometimes when I'd accompanied Takuma to the biggest city of this country to visit the headquarters of the Ichijo Empire. Yeah, this family was filthy rich. Anyways, it still made me happy to see that I had enough of Ichio's trust to be handed the responsibility of his precious grandson's security.

"I expect regular reports of the situation. I will send one of my guards every month to keep the communication on. Is that clear"

"Very clear Sir." I said, voice crisp and back straight. As we stared at each other's face in all seriousness, my lips cracked into a smile at the sudden look of dejection in Asato's expression.

"Oh, don't worry, Asato-sama. I will take secret pictures of them and pass them to you via your ninjas if you want."

"… you would?" he asked, covering his face with his hands as his shoulders slouched into the typical my-beloved-child-is-leaving-home-and-I-can't-do-a-thing-about-it dad posture. Aaah, curse my soft spot for caring dads and grandpas.

"Of course! I will even force them to visit you at least once every 3 months."

He sighed, "Then I shall leave it to you, Katsumi-chan. Please protect them."

I nodded and then left the room following his shooing hand gesture.

And that was it. My time at the Ichijo main house was over. When I returned to my room to continue packing later on in the night, I was ambushed by some maids who dragged me to the mess of the servants' quarters for my "Good job party." Reiko-san had made my favourite foods (I didn't have just one), there was lively folk music, people ate, drank and danced, not caring about whether they were vampires or humans, at least not at that moment. It came to me then that all this time, Asato might have inadvertently achieved what Kaien wanted to publicise: cohabitation between humans and vampires. We partied for three whole hours until everyone was shooed off to rest for the next night. I continued to dance the day away in my room.

The next night, I bawled my eyes out with Wakamatsu and Yoshida, both of whom were absolute darlings to me. They were probably also part of my precious people now, a list which continuously, frighteningly grew the more I met people in this world. This had never happened to me before and I couldn't stop being both happy and scared about it. I had more people to love, more to rely on, more to protect, more to be worried about. That was why I group hugged with the two men for five whole minutes before climbing into the limousine which would drop us at Kaien's estate. I had already given Raphael a 3-pages long letter describing my admiration and loyalty towards him earlier in the night. I had also beaten Ichio's small fry ninjas to a pulp to convey my affection. This way, I had no regrets. We drove away towards Cross Academy, the night air cooling my flushed face. It had been a good seven years, and I was finally going back home.

* * *

"You can't stay here." Kaien said, his glasses flashing seriously as he bared the way to my room.

"But whhhhhyyyyyyyyyyy? This is MY room Kai-chan. So let me in already!" Besides, the suitcase I was holding was annoyingly heavy.

"I'm sorry Katsumi-chan, but you will have to stay in the Moon Dorms. You are the boys' bodyguard, so it's only natural for you to stay with them."

"I know that, but one day is fine right? They're big already and you can look after them for a bit no?"

"I understand." He pouted, hastily covering his face with his hands. "I will allow them to stay in your room for tonight!"

….. -_-

"… fine. Let's go to my Moon Dorm room." I said, dragging my luggage back down the corridor.

"To be honest", Kaien whispered, walking beside me as we continued our route to what the Anime had called 'The Old Moon Dorm', "this was a very strict request from Asato Ichijo."

"What did he want?"

"Well… he only allowed the boys to stay here on two conditions."

"Kai-chan", I heaved, lifting the suitcase over the stairs one step at a time. "Why- do I- get the feeling- that you're about to spill a bomb?"

Kaien giggled sheepishly. "He asked for access for his guards who would occasionally come to get a report from you."

Mhm, that I knew. "And?" I asked, rolling the case towards the huge door that Kaien was pointing to.

"And he wanted you to stay as close to them as possible." He said, opening the door to show a hotel suite style luxurious living room area where Kaname, Yuuki and Takuma were lounging. He pointed towards the three doors which lay on the inner walls of the room. "All the time."

"So what, we're just staying in the same suite. It's not really a problem right?" I asked the boys, who just smiled sheepishly. Well whatever. "Can I choose?"

"Nope. You have the middle one." Kaien chirped, letting me drag my heavy case over the rich red velveteen carpet. I opened the door and groaned.

"I'm sure it's the smallest of the three." I muttered, resting the luggage against the beige and gold princess-style wardrobe. I launched myself on the bed, sighing out in pleasure as my body met one of the softest mattresses I had ever slept on. At least the bed was great, even though it was also princess style. A drape of soft rose gold silk fell smoothly from the frame of the bed. The room had a dressing area with the cupboard and vanity (which I'd probably use to throw my used clothes on). There was a study table and a small library in one corner. A window allowed the soft rays of dawn to filter through in the space right beside the bed.

Overall, I liked the room. It was smaller than the one I had back in Kaien's mansion, but bigger than the one I had back at the Ichijo main house. I noticed two doors on either side of the walls. "Why are the toilet and the bathroom so far apart?" I thought out loud.

"That's because these are Kaname and Takuma's rooms." Kaien replied, opening the doors one by one to eventually reveal the luxurious bedrooms which lay on either side of my own.

I sat up straight on the bed. "Are you kidding me?"

"No, this was Ichio's second condition and you should be thankful that I even managed to get you a room."

"I'm sorry, Katsumi-chan." Takuma said, standing guiltily in the entrance. "Grandfather is so unreasonable."

I sighed, flomping back down on the mattress. "Oh, don't worry Taku-chan. We'll manage." After all, Takuma and Kaname weren't bad guys. We'd be able to live together just fine.

I might have jinxed myself by thinking that. The day wasn't even over yet, and I was already regretting letting Kaien off about this. We had been left to our own devices, alone in that mansion. And instead of going around to explore the place in what I assumed was the first real freedom they had ever gotten, they were bent on pestering good-ole-trying-to-sleep me about various useless things. If it wasn't Takuma barging in suddenly to ask "Katsumi-chan, did Reiko-san tell you where she kept my pajamas?", it was Kaname entering as if he was not at all intruding just to say, "Do not mind me, Katsumi. I am just here to place this (absurdly expensive and inarguably useless little trinket) on your table. I have some other things to give you, but I can wait for these. I apologize if I woke you up. I will leave immediately." After which he proceeded to stand still beside my bed to look at me for I don't know how long until I opened my eyes and got a shock, in turn causing him to get a shock and to hastily leave.

All in all, the first day was catastrophic. Then came the night, which was equally painful. There was accommodation for about 20 Night Class students in this dorm, so there were about 10 bathrooms. I left the one in our suite to Kaname and Takuma to use and went to look for another one close by enough. It was quite early, 4:30 in the afternoon. I didn't bother waking them up or anything. I was too considerate. I should have shook them up and yelled into their ears "I'm going to take a shower, so stay asleep and don't come looking for me because I won't get lost! Don't come, alright?!" Instead, I found myself throwing a brush in Takuma's face, who'd opened the bathroom door asking whether I was playing hide and seek. I was confident that he hadn't had time to look, plus he left at supersonic speed… But I couldn't trust those advanced vampire eyes.

Which led to the current situation. "We need some protocols." I announced. I was eating the evening breakfast that Kaien had prepared for me. There was no food at the dorm (yet), so we had to go to Kaien's mansion to get some for me. I enumerated the rules with my left hand fingers while I cut the fluffy choco pancakes into bite size pieces with my fork. "1) You guys can't enter my room unless there's an emergency. 2) Always lock the bathroom door when you're in. 3) I'm your bodyguard, not your maid, so don't expect me to do your chores. I suppose Kai-chan will have someone clean the place and all, but still. This way, we'll be able to coexist in peace, alright?"

Takuma nodded, but Kaname did not seem to agree. "I have no qualms in abiding by your rules, Katsumi, but you should still keep in mind that we are supposed to be able to get to you at any time and that you are supposed to be at our side at all times as our bodyguard. Won't these… rules get in the way of your duty?"

… oh shit he was right. But still, I protected them all this time without sticking to them 24/7. Though… they still had Yoshida and Mirai at their sides wherever they went. "Arrgh fine. But you can't come disturbing me or creeping up on me while I am sleeping! And you seriously can't peek in the bathroom!"

I heard a crash, and looked at the doorway to see Kaien gathering the files he'd dropped. _Oh damn, he heard. This is going to be very awkward_ … was what I thought until I noticed his nosebleed. Seriously, this world was full of perverts.

"Kai-chan." I said, feeling my facial expressions tugging into disgust. "If you're thinking about the 'juicy details' of my love life, then please stop."

"Ehehe~"

I turned to the boys, "Let's just say that we need to be more considerate of each other, alright?"

Both nodded.

After that little episode, Kaien showed us the reports which were in the files he'd brought. "This is the progress on the blood tablets that the laboratory has developed." He said, making me look closer at the graphs and the statistics. I had already known that Kaien was investing a lot into these pills for some time, but to see the actual results and to think that we were nearing the beginning of cannon so quickly was a bit… terrifying. "The tests have shown positive reactions." Kaien continued. "No after effects except for a bit of hunger in the first few days. All in all, it's like going on a diet."

I glanced at Kaname and Takuma, both of whom were examining the files seriously, then I looked at Kaien, who smiled reassuringly at me. I didn't know much about these blood tablets except that no one liked their taste. These two usually had an unlimited access to fresh blood on a daily basis, so I was quite worried about them suddenly shifting to this artificial means of nourishment.

"Understood, Cross-san. I suppose you have a supply of them ready?" Kaname asked, placing the papers back onto the table.

Kaien produced two little boxes which looked like a metallic version of peppermint candy dispensers. "I have already stocked your dorm's supply room with these cases. The researchers told me that one per day would be enough to keep the thirst at bay, but if need be, you can take as much as you want."

I watched as Takuma gingerly got one in his hand, asking him to pass me one so I could look too. The pill was rosy white, pretty small. I sniffed it and crunched up my nose. It smelled like those iron pills that I used to take due to anaemia in my last life. "You can dissolve them in water, wine or any other drink you want. For now, let's test it with water, alright?"

"Wait, you're testing it now?" I asked as he went to fill two glasses of water from the tap.

"Yes. I need to see for myself if you are ok with it." He placed the glasses in front of them and asked me to pass him the tablet I had in my hand. He dropped it in one glass and we watched as it transformed the liquid into diluted blood. Kaname grabbed the glass and took a sip from it.

"H-how is it?" I asked, strangely nervous for some reason.

"It's bland."

"Is it bitter?" Takuma questioned, dropping a pill into his glass.

"Not really. I believe that it is alright as a replacement."

Phew~~ Kaien and I both sighed out in relief at the same time. It would have been a pain if he had rejected them.

Then we all stayed in Kaien's residence for a whole 24 hours. He couldn't possibly leave them as such without monitoring their adaptation to the tablets. I went to look for Yuuki in her room and dragged her from her homework so we could all play "Rich Man Poor Man". She started feeling sleepy half-way through the game, and she was already dirt poor, so she left. Then it was a fierce battle between Kaien and me, the almighty millionaires.

After that, we played chess, monopoly, old maid, and then we got bored of playing so we lounged, and then we slept, etc… The only thing that bugged the boys the entire time was what Kaname reported as "just a feeling of slight thirst which refuses to go away no matter how many pills we take". Other than that, things went ok, so we returned to our dorm the next night.

…However, suddenly changing diets wasn't a simple thing for a vampire.

-3 days after they began relying on the blood tablets for nutrition-

"Go back to sleep, Takuma." I said, keeping my voice as level as possible. He was standing right beside my bed, eyes shadowed by his bangs. I had been sleeping when he came in, probably unconsciously seeking blood. I woke up by sensing his… thirst. I knew that awake, Takuma would never hurt me. But asleep and running on instincts like he was now, I wasn't so sure.

He continued to stand there, rocking slightly and sniffing from time to time. I knew that if I made any sudden movement, he'd lunge. So I stayed still, waiting for the right moment to speak up again.

But he slowly began climbing on my bed, crawling towards me. I crawled away at the same speed so as not to startle him, but he grabbed my ankle in an iron grip, dragging me towards him. When I was right below him, he stopped moving. I could see that his eyes were glazed over, tinted with a bit of red. I wasn't sure if slapping him awake would work or make it worse. I controlled my breathing so as to keep my pulse low, but the tension I was feeling was quite high. I had never let a bloodthirsty vampire come so close to me, unless I was killing it. I didn't know why, but I let him drag his fingers over my neck, pushing the collar of my oversized T-shirt aside to reveal my shoulder and collarbone. _Ok, this is becoming extremely dangerous_ , I thought as he oh-so-slowly lowered his head towards me. If he didn't stop, I was kicking him unconscious the instant he bared his fangs.

I didn't have to do that though. Kaname intervened with a stern "Takuma, go back to your room. Right now." The pureblood order worked. Takuma froze at the sound of Kaname's voice, his face halfway down. Then he slowly crawled out of my bed, walking back to his room and even closing the door behind him. I let out a small sigh, flashing a little 'thank you' smile towards Kaname, which he did not return. Instead, he stared at me with that anxious expression of his, eyes heavily red with obvious worry.

"Oh come on," I whispered, lifting my T-shirt's collar back in place, "you know I wouldn't have let him bite me."

"You still let him dangerously near, Katsumi." He replied, voice low and reprimanding. "Takuma might be your friend, but he is a vampire first and foremost."

"I know. I just didn't want to hurt him unless necessary. That's all." I said, covering my legs with the duvet again.

Kaname did not seem satisfied with that answer. He frowned, tightening his jaws. "Take your pillow and covers and get into my room Katsumi. You will stay there from now on."

What the hell- "This is going too far, Kaname." I retorted, not bothering to whisper anymore. "You and I both know that I can protect myself. Hell, I am supposed to protect you and not the other way around, remember?"

"Yes, but this is only the beginning. Takuma is close to you, which is why I believe he was so hesitant about letting his instincts take over. This won't be the case with the other vampires who will begin living in the dorm soon. They are not just your random level-E that you can kill with one blow, Katsumi. They are noble vampires and you know that things will be a lot more complicated than just a display of your physical strength with them. This is the best decision. I will talk to Cross-san about this tomorrow and I am sure that he will agree with me."

"But you're the most dangerous out of them Kaname! Who says you won't try the same thing?!" I asked, totally aware that my point was stupid and that he was right. But I was still not ok with having to sleep in the same room as Kaname!

"I am the only one whom they will never defy, and I have self-restraint, Katsumi. I can control myself. Now come, there is enough space on my bed for two people."

I threw my pillow in his face, gathering my blanket and walking begrudgingly towards his room. "Fuck you, Kaname. I'm sleeping on your couch."

And that was how things degenerated into me sleeping in the same room as the Kuran prince. Kaien saw the logic in Kaname's idea and proceeded to break down the wall between my and Kaname's rooms. In just one night, his super-efficient employees had repainted and remodelled the place so it became one big gorgeous room. On Kaname's requirements, they placed the beds a bit close so "he could intervene in time if something were to happen." Takuma was slightly shocked at this development. I had quite severely told Kaname to keep his mouth shut about 'the incident' so as to avoid unnecessary complications. He seemed to think that this was all Kaien's decision for my protection, so he quickly accepted it. God preserve the innocence of my cute waifu.

The next night, Kaname personally wrote individual letters to all the young vampire nobles that we knew, beginning the recruitment and the subsequent formation of the official "Night Class".

* * *

Omake 1: When Katsumi was bored during the time Takuma was avoiding her

"Takeumaaaaaaaaaaa~~ I'm booooooooooored~~ Play with meeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"No. I am busy." Takuma said, adding a stone-serious expression in to emphasize his rejection.

I pouted. "Fine! Then I'm gonna ask Kaname! Stupid Takuma!"

I strode out of his room and rode the elevator towards the higher level. I wasn't having delusions about Kaname agreeing to actually 'play' with me. It didn't matter then, I'd just pass time by pestering him.

"Kanameeeeeeee!" I called, entering his room and finding him in his personal mini library. "I'm booooored! Play with me, will you?"

"Very well, Katsumi. What do you wish to play?"

"….You're agreeing?"

"Of course. Do you have any specific game in mind?" he asked, beckoning me to come closer.

"Umm, well, no. Not really."

"Then I propose we do some nice reading together. I just found some really interesting poetry."

I glanced down at the book he wanted to show me.

*insert the sappiest poetry you can think of*

…O_O. "Umm, you know, I just remembered that I had something to do. I'll come by to see you another time, ok?"

Kaname smiled, "Of course, whenever you want, Katsumi."

I ran away from there as fast as I could.

Unbeknownst to Katsumi, Kaname glanced back at his book with a perplexed expression. "Perhaps is it too deep for her? I should fine something lighter for her to enjoy." Then began Kaname's pursuit of a wide range of poetry so he could find something Katsumi would like.

* * *

Omake 2: The list of gifts that Katsumi told Kaname not to buy due to presentiments and previous experiences:

Frilly princess dresses and accessories

Diamond jewellery

Expensive watches

Famous statues and paintings

Not famous but equally expensive statues and paintings

Gems

Tapestries

Hair curlers

Extremely rare energy drinks

Relics

Stars

Planets

Slaves

Ghosts

* * *

Omake 3: The gift that Takuma had bought for Katsumi on the night he got kidnapped

A limited edition figurine of Itanosuke, Katsumi's favourite character from "Paruto: The Last Samurai".

* * *

 **AN: So, liked the first doki-doki scene? What about the unexpected plot twist of *shock* Zero is not here? I want to hear more from you guys, so please review! Things are about to get even more interesting with this fic, so I hope that you will continue reading ^^**

 **Until next time!**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Hello! Hellooo! Hellooooooooooooooooo! I felt it you know, the longing you guys have been feeling for this update. And I am merely a servant, here to fulfil your desires. Mwaahhahahahaha *I am probably an evil servant***

 **Anyways, I want to say a big thanks to all those who reviewed in the last chapter *my evil heart melted a lot, it's almost like a black marshmallow now* Every time my phone tinged with a mail telling me someone had followed my story/had favorited it/had followed or favorited me, I… I don't remember what I did, but I was very happy and I probably did something cruelly constructive.**

 **On that note, I will leave you this… offering to read. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 14

 _Flames._

 _Coiling and flickering as they burned in painful slow motion. She was mesmerized by the shifting shades of orange and blue, by the impossibly smooth shape which delicately trembled in scorching heat... pulling her in... dragging her in... luring her to fall into the depths of a smothered evil. Wanting it to capture her, to engulf her forever until-_

"Katsumi."

I blinked, turning into the direction of Kaname's voice. He was drying his hair with a towel, silk shirt hanging loosely on his shoulders. "The lights are back on and the bathroom is free. You can blow out the candles now."

"... Ok."

* _fssshhhh_ *

Two months had passed since we began staying in the Moon Dorm. Two busy months full of prep work and discussions to prepare for the reception of the first batch of Night Class students. They were arriving tonight, all having accepted or been forced to accept Kaname's invitation letter. Kaien had decided to send his electrician over for one last check, which was the reason for the candles, which was in turn the reason for my strange lapse in concentration.

I sighed, closing the bathroom door behind me. My shoulders felt heavy with fatigue and my head was slightly woozy. I was lacking sleep. I sighed even harder, throwing my clothes into the laundry basket and drew the curtains across the shower a bit more roughly than usual. Taking care of two pampered aristocrat vampires was hard enough. I didn't need one of them to continuously try to make small talk to me when I was trying desperately to sleep. I was already bad at sleeping in the same room as another person, how could I relax if I had a pureblood harassing me about random "Did you know" facts which gave me nightmares everyday?! To top it all off, Ichio's most annoying ninja came to pester me about details yesterday night, right when I got inside a supposedly relaxing bubble bath. (didn't know what they all had, intruding on me just when I was in the bathroom. Maybe I was cursed.)

But yeah, anyways, I was tired. Takuma was seeing this, and being the sweetheart he was, he did his best to make me get some sleep. His efforts were in vain though since I did not find much time in my schedule to validate his plans.

I closed the shower's tap and dried my body with the towel. I let out a huge groan when I reached out for my clothes. There were none! I had forgotten to take in my clean clothes since I was feeling all… _not quite here_ earlier. I had just showered, so no way was I putting on the dirty clothes from before.

 _Oh relax_ , I told myself, _this is not an actual manga or anime, nor a tv drama series. There is nothing to be dramatic about._

I huffed, approaching the door. I cleared my throat and called out, "Kaname?"

After a few seconds, I got a dulled reply, "Yes? Are you calling for me, Katsumi?"

"Is Takuma in the suite?"

I heard him walk towards the bathroom and his answer sounded a lot closer, "He is downstairs, helping with the preparation for the welcoming ceremony."

"Ok, good. Can you just leave the room for a second Kaname?" I asked, tightening my towel so it didn't slip. To my horror, I heard the door handle slowly turn. I rushed to the door, slamming it close the instant it cracked open.

"Is something wrong, Katsumi? Do you need help?" Kaname questioned, now even applying pressure on the door to get it to open. I couldn't even lock it since he was preventing me from closing it completely.

"For God's sake, Kaname, nothing is wrong! I just need you to leave the room for a moment so I can get changed!"

The pressure on the door halted a bit. "Seriously man, you could have spared yourself the embarrassment if you had just listened to me. Now get away from the door and please leave the suite for a few minutes, will you?"

"Alright. I will leave immediately." I heard him walk out and sighed out. _Not a manga, yeah right._

I changed and joined Kaname and Takuma outside of the suite. Once at the entrance, I left the boys to their business discussions and plopped down in the lap of a sitting statue.

We had about an hour before the cars started to pull in (it was only 8 afterall). Kaien wouldn't be meeting the students tonight. We all thought that it would be best for them to feel authority coming from Kaname only, for several reasons. Better control, centralized power, less resistance etc... To help with all that, I was even instructed to address Kaname formally in front of the students. I pouted, thinking about how Takuma hadn't gotten any such restrictions. I understood though, and it wasn't like we'd be surrounded by Night class students all the time. I'd eventually be able to relax when we were in our suite or something.

As usual, all of that reasoning went down the drain when the first car pulled in.

"Hanabusa-chaaaaaaaaaan!" I hugged the boy's neck from behind the instant he got out of the car, hanging from his shoulders koala-style.

He instantly called out "Akatsukiiiiii!", his perpetual saviour who unfortunately never knew how to deal with people like me. While I rendered Hanabusa increasingly uncomfortable by whispering in his ear, Akatsuki found only one solution to the problem. "Kaname-sama-"

"Katsumi."

"Isn't it fine, Kaname?" I asked, not letting go. "We're just bonding, so let us be."

"Noooooooo", Hanabusa whimpered out.

"Katsumi. Not now." Kaname said, voice strict. I sighed, loosening my grip. "Fine." I climbed down the Aidou tower, flashing him one last smile before glaring at Kaname. That was when I noticed that other cars were also present and that other students were staring at us, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Uhm" I cleared my throat, bending my face a bit behind Takuma to hide my silent laugh.

"Such unrefined behaviour", I heard a disapproving female voice say. "You never change Katsumi."

I re-emerged from behind Takuma with a smirk, almost sweet enough to be a bitter smile. "Oh, you were there, Ruka? I did not see you amongst all those boys. You merged right in."

I mentally high-fived myself for thinking up a snarky reply for Ruka in my free time. It was so worth seeing her tremble with rage while she grit her teeth and balled her fists.

"That is enough." Kaname said, his deep voice engulfing the area in sheer authoritative power. Even I straightened to attention. "I am Kaname Kuran, last descendant of the Kuran pureblood line. I welcome you all to this school and I hope that you will all participate in this project to promote coexistence between vampires and humans. I will be your dorm president and as long as you are on the campus and a student of Cross Academy, you will be under my authority." He took a moment to look at everyone present, probably so as to instill his statement and to pick up traces of resistance/refusal. There were none. "Takuma Ichijo is the vice-president. He will follow with the rules and explanations once inside the entrance hall."

Entrance hall which was 2 steps away, so Takuma began talking already. His public smile on, he vaguely introduced himself in a chirpy voice and lead the students inside while I observed them. They were all young, but some looked older and some younger than me. Some were mesmerized by Takuma and Kaname and some had an unsure look on their face. But they all had one thing in common; they all flashed me a glare when they passed me ('cept for Hanabusa and Aidou). I huffed and closed the door after verifying that everyone had entered the building.

"Rule number 1", Takuma said, showing his index finger for all to see from the balcony he was standing on. "No human blood. This means that you cannot bring in your own supply and you cannot feed off humans you see on campus and outside." He waited a few seconds for the murmurs to die down a bit before continuing, "Rule number two, no one leaves the school grounds, or the dorm except to go to class or on special permission from the Dorm president. And rule number 3," This time, a cold warning entered his eyes, making me wonder what this third additional rule was about (we had only discussed two rules together)." No one is allowed to touch the human girl over there." he said, pointing towards me.

 _Say what?_

Everyone turned around to look at me as Takuma continued, "Katsumi Cross is our personal bodyguard and a protégé of the Ichijo family. Any attempt at harming her will not be overlooked." It sounded so high class and not honest at all when said it like that.

Loud whispers began before Takuma could even say "That's all."

 _'That girl is a bodyguard?'_

 _'I thought she was a welcoming snack.'_

 _'What is she to Kuran-sama?'_

 _'If she's a bodyguard, can't she protect herself?'_

 _'Wait Cross? Isn't that-'_

"Huh?!" Hanabusa loudly exclaimed some distance away from me. "Katsumi is Kaien Cross' daughter?!" This plunged the room into a hushed silence as some people launched cold stares towards me.

I smiled, flashing Hanabusa a V-sign and releasing a tiny wave of vampire energy to uplift my aura (and to appear less tired than I was). Kaien had killed quite a lot of vampires in his history as a hunter, and while he was respected, he was certainly not liked by everyone. As his daughter, inheriting his enemies was a given.

"That's right, Hanabusa-kun." Takuma continued. "She is also here to solidify and to enrich our experience as we learn to adapt to a life without human blood." To say that they had discussed all of that without me knowing anything, those secretive jerks. On the other hand, if they were able to sneakily talk about all these, then there was surely a weakness in my work as a personal bodyguard. ...I should stick to them more.

Afterwards, the students did a raffle to choose their roommates. They were given their keys and left to wander the dorm in search of their rooms. Hanabusa coincidentally (or with an extremely schemed drawing technique developed with his superior intelligence) was paired with Akatsuki. As they all had their servants drop their luggage in their respective rooms, Kaname, Takuma and I did some rounds to make sure that things were going well. After a few hours, we gathered everyone in the lobby again to distribute the blood tablets and to explain its effects. Kaien's newly hired vampire-chef, Jean-Louis (I was the only one who was able to pronounce his name well due to my antecedents with other languages), prepared a feast of exquisite human food to accompany the follow-up musicless party. I indulged, not paying much mind to the glares now. They'd get used to me eventually. Takuma and Kaname both stood and sat right beside me the entire night, their will to protect me, their bodyguard, annoyingly touching. It made my job easier since I didn't have to run after them to protect them, so I didn't say anything.

The party was exceedingly boring, if not for the food. I thought that it would continue on uneventfully until I was approached by a guy in the middle of my snatching of as many choux à la crème as I could.

"Nice to meet you, Cross-san. May I invite you on a conversation?" the guy suddenly asked, making me retract my hand from the last choux. I felt Kaname and Takuma drift closer to me as I examined the guy. Dark purple hair, green eyes, handsome features and a confident smile. Hmmm, suspicious.

I wiped some cream from the corner of my mouth and smiled, "Sure. What would you like to converse about?"

"Oh, nothing serious. I would just like to get to know you better, if you wish to, of course." he said, looking at me in the eye.

Increasingly suspicious.

"Alright. As you already know, I am Katsumi Cross. I like manga and martial arts. What about you?"

The guy's eyes drooped, "I was thinking about going somewhere more private, is it not possible?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. I was outwardly amused and internally baffled. Was he suicidal? Asking this and openly flirting with me in front of those obviously protective bishounen thugs behind me was...well...either stupid or extremely thought-through. And what was he thinking? I was (obviously) not stupid enough to believe that he was actually hitting on me. Was this a lure? But for whom? Was it to get the boys away from me, or to get me away from them? His game sounded interesting, but I was unfortunately bound by duty.

"As you know, I am working right now. So maybe next time?" I replied, cocking my head to the side as well.

"I will make sure to ask you again another time then." He turned around to leave, but seemingly remembering something, he glanced back. "Oh, and please remember my name. It's Izumi Kurenai." Then he smiled and left, but I was sure he'd approach me again some other day. Oh well, I wouldn't mind it much since he was hot.

I turned around to continue hunting for cakes and I collided with both Takuma and Kaname who had been practically stuck to my back. They glared down at me and Kaname was the one to say "You will not meet with him alone."

Saw that line coming from the mantle of the earth.

"We're serious, Katsumi-chan." Takuma continued, even when the party was over. "He seems extremely conniving."

"He is also from the Kurenai family," Kaname added as I prepared my bed to go to sleep. "They are famous for being rebellious. Maybe I should just have him sent back home."

I crooked an eyebrow, letting him know that he was being too extreme. I sighed, "Fine. I won't meet him alone if he calls me, alright? Can I go to sleep now?"

I didn't wait for his answer.

The next night, I was assaulted by two vampires.

One of the guys pushed me against the wall, as the other closed the door of the room. "We're not going to hurt you," he said. "We are just asking nicely for some of your blood."

"Yeah", the other one growled out, closing in on my left side to sniff my hair. "No need to let Kaname-sama know about this. We're just going to have a little snack."

I remained motionless, for now. As long as they did not 'touch' me, I had the instruction to not hurt them. Afterall, promoting peace went both ways. It wouldn't be fair if humans were allowed to hurt vampires. Also, making an enemy out of nobles wouldn't be good for business, both Kaien's and Ichio's. So these matters had to be settled with diplomacy, which I had none.

That was why I did not move, waiting for the right moment to slip out wordlessly.

Strangely, the guys seemed to be savouring the moment, letting out small laughs and sniffing now and then. This was different from my past experience with the vampire gone wild back at the main house six years ago, but that was a story for another time. These noble vampires were a lot more well-mannered, even in their debauchery.

Just as one of their hands made a move to close in around my waist, the door clicked open. Guess who.

"What are you doing?" Izumi Kurenai asked, eyes shifting between me and the guys.

The already light-skinned vampires paled visibly. I gently pushed their arms aside and walked out of the room. Before closing the door, I said in a low voice, "I won't tell about this incident to the dorm president. But if you break the rules once more, I won't hold back."

Then I left them to repent in fear.

"Why let them off so easily?" Izumi asked as we walked down the corridor. "They could have done... a lot of bad things to you."

"That's true," I replied nonchalantly, "But I'm playing nice, so I won't kill them just for that. Did you smell me through the door?"

"... Down the corner." he replied, getting rid of his uncomfortable expression with a shake of his head. "Anyways, are you not working tonight?"

"I am. We just split up for a quick inspection around the dorms. I noticed that these guys had a vial of spare blood, so I went in to confiscate it when they cornered me. Bad idea. Anyways, I can keep track of Kaname-sama and Takuma-kun easily as long as they don't go out of the building, so it's fine. Why? You still wish to converse?"

He flashed a killer smile (damn this guy was handsome!) "Aren't we already?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but-

"Katsumi." Re-guess who.

"Good evening, Kaname-sama." Izumi greeted.

Kaname replied with a dry "Good evening." before sending the following message to me through his eyes: _come back to my side this instant, you disobedient little liar_.

I sighed, laughing slightly at this extremely 'lol-worthy' situation. "I hope my boss will raise my salary for this slave treatment." I exclaimed, waving to Izumi and walking towards Kaname nonetheless.

"You promised." Kaname whispered as we walked away.

"I said if he called me."

He hmpfed in the most noble style he could muster.

I gave him the vial I had swiped from the boys' room. "Some brats were hiding this. We should be more thorough with the luggage inspection. Who knows what else they brought." We reached the courtyard, hearing Takuma summon the students to the front of the mansion via the interphone. They were meeting with Kaien tonight and the earlier incident wasn't really a good start to the evening.

The students began to gather in the lobby and a few minutes later, I saw Kaien's silhouette approaching the dorm. I felt Kaname stiffen a bit beside me and when I looked closer, I saw why. The stupid man was bringing Yuuki with him.

The girl smiled as soon as she saw me and began running towards us. "Katsumi-neeeeeee!" she exclaimed while hugging me. I hugged her back, "Yuuki-chaaaaaaaan!" I glanced to my back as I wrapped my arms around her, seeing that Kaname had backed away a little, moving closer to the Night Class to control them better.

"Are they all here?" Kaien asked me discreetly, placing a hand on Yuuki's shoulder to indicate that she should let go now.

"Mostly." I replied, speaking with my eyes to ask why he'd decided that bringing Yuuki here was a good idea.

* _she insisted, I couldn't do anything_ * was the silent answer.

I smiled. * _you could have given her homework or something_ *

He smiled * _she threatened to leave home when I suggested that_ *

* _... fine_ *

"Principle-san," Kaname spoke up, "we are all present. Please begin."

Kaien nodded and proceeded with his speech while I animatedly conversed with Yuuki to drag her attention away from the vampires who kept glancing towards us. After he was done, the Night Class was shocked enough by his chirpyness to pay Yuuki no attention. See your image of the Vampire without Fangs crumble into bubbles had that effect.

Kaien left with a cheery Yuuki after I promised to play with her on the upcoming Sunday.

"Was that your sister Katsumi-san?" Hanabusa asked curiously, approaching me as I waved Yuuki goodbye.

"Yup, and I'll castrate you if you ever touch her Hanabusa-chan."

And that was the end of the 2nd night.

The 3rd night was like being locked in a world which had crossed between The Walking Dead and Dracula.

"I need bloooood!" the scratchy voice whispered from behind the door, hands and nails rapping against the wood. "Give me the girl. She'll be just enough." another voice whispered a bit louder, knocking against the door. Several other voices accompanied these two and the door was shaking a bit.

"Seems like they're still asleep." Takuma told me as I got out of the bathroom, towelling my hair.

"Where is Kaname? Isn't he supposed to shake them awake at times like this?"

"He is also still asleep." he replied, going into the bathroom.

"You didn't wake him up you idiot?!" I hissed out as he closed the door.

"I'm tired tonight, Katsumi-chan. You do it." And that was it. _Katsumi is never tired, oh no. Katsumi is always willing to go wake the grouchy pureblood ancestor up._

I groaned, throwing the wet towel on the couch. I went into the room and stared at Kaname's sleeping form. He always slept so artistically. Whether on his tummy or on his back, he was always graceful, his hair smoothly feathering his facial features, like a male version of the Sleeping Beauty.

A complete contrast to his aura mere seconds after we dared to disrupt his sleep.

I braced myself, nudging his shoulder slightly. "Wake up, Kaname. It's five-thirty already."

He half-opened his eyes, then closed them back right away. I sighed, nudging him again a little harder. "Hey-"

I didn't have time to react. He grabbed my wrist and pulled, using gravity to drag me into a sleeping position right beside him as he buried his head into my shoulder.

"How many times have I told you," he whispered in a slurry, deep voice, "to never wake me up with the lights on."

I tried to push him away, but his arms were tightly wrapped around mine, so I couldn't move an inch. "Let go Kaname. You need to wake the night class students up or they'll end up breaking the door."

"Let them."

I tried to manoeuvre around with my legs, which were the only part that I could move. But I ended up in an extremely provocative straddling position.

"Are you trying to seduce me, Katsumi?" Kaname asked, eyes wide open and flashing with mischief.

"Shut up, you bastard! I was just trying to wake you up, alright?!" I said, moving to get off him since he'd finally loosened his hold. "You're such a pain, really." I fixed my multipurpose belt back in place and began loading my weapons on. "Don't blame me if I break your arms to make you let go next time."

"Hmm" he mumbled, getting into a sitting position, hair sticking out in all directions. "Are they still not conscious?"

"No. We need them to get ready soon since we have to go around the Academy grounds tonight. So get them to wake up already."

He got to his feet, walked out of the room into our lounge and closed the door behind him. I checked my Katana as he opened the main door to our suite and immediately calmed the crowd down through a massive pureblood brain power move. He made them return to their rooms, getting them to slowly regain consciousness so they did not realize they'd been, well, turned into zombies due to hunger. They were prideful nobles, their pride'd be hurt otherwise.

I was slipping a dagger into my boot when he opened the door again, wordlessly declaring that things were done.

I ate my cereals while the boys got ready. Then we were off to the guided trip. *shakes little flag*

Kaien led the class around the school grounds. Kaname was at the front while Takuma and I stayed behind to close the queue.

We were soon joined by some girls who seemed to be extremely fond of Takuma's public smile. They squealed and tried to hold his hands while he desperately inched away from them, but still as politely as he could. I laughed out loud at his predicament, then took pity enough on his uncomfortable expression to intervene.

"Now now, young ladies, you're making him uncomfortable, so could you back away a little please?" I asked, smiling but with probably no amount of tact. I created some distance between them by walking in front of Takuma, hearing his extremely subtle sigh of relief from behind. I immediately met a crowd of glaring eyes.

"Do you not think that you are also too close to him?" the spokesperson, a petite girl with long brown hair said, crossing her arms in defiance.

I shrugged, "Can't do anything about that you know. I'm his bodyguard, so I'm supposed to stay as close to his body (I pressed my head to his shoulder) as possible to guard it. Since it's-my-job." This riled them up and they turned around, walking to the front as quickly as possible. I laughed, looking up to see that Takuma had turned his head away from mine, a blush tinting his cheeks red.

" Aww, Taku-chan." I whispered, "You should be used to my skinship by now."

"You should rather stop doing it, Katsumi-chan." he whispered back.

"Why should I?" I asked, unsticking myself from him. I turned around to look at him, but his face was still extremely red and facing away from me.

"Well, aren't you... together with Kaname-kun now?"

I stopped dead. "The hell are you talking about Takuma?"

We were being left behind by the crowd, but it didn't matter. This was another one of his huge misunderstandings.

"I noticed that you and Kaname-kun were-"

"Ok no stop right there." I interrupted, not wanting to hear it. I sighed out. "Takuma, I am not flirting with Kaname, nor am I flirting with you. I am in fact flirting with no one (except for that mock flirting with the purple head but that didn't count). I only agreed to stay with Kaname because it is genuinely dangerous (for the vampires) if I stay alone. I am not 'together' *shivers* with Kaname and for Heaven's sake I hope I will never be. Man, he's not my type at all!"

Takuma eyed me, a bit shocked and asked slowly. "Then what is your type, Katsumi-chan?"

I huffed, letting go of his arm that I had grabbed in the middle of my speech. "Don't get your hopes up, Taku-chan. It's Raphael. Now let's get going, we're too far behind."

I turned around and immediately ducked to avoid a projectile. I swept my legs around Takuma's feet, so he fell right after me, successfully avoid the sharp leaf (leaf!?) too. I softened his fall with my arm and looked up in the direction of the attacker. And guess who?

I smiled, lifting Takuma into a standing position again without taking my eyes off of the purple head. "I was wondering how long you'd take to launch an attack, but you were quite impatient Izumi-kun."

Leaves were swirling around him, his expression serious. "You are sharper than I thought."

"You weren't precisely subtle, what with targeting me so directly. So, reveal it. What is your motive? Takuma's wealth, his grandfather, his position next to Kaname or his cute face?"

He scoffed, "None of those silly reasons. In fact, I am not even after the Ichijo heir. It's you, Katsumi-chan."

Scuse me?

Takuma came to stand in front of me, asking "What do you want with Katsumi?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with, Ichijo-san. This matter is only between me and your bodyguard."

Takuma was about to replicate, but I pushed him aside, standing firm now. "Oh be serious, would you? No need to play these games, I don't want this guy's imagination to run wild again. Just say it, I might even let you off if you're cooperative enough."

"Does it surprise you so much, Katsumi-chan, that you might have enemies too?"

"... I haven't killed anyone from the Kurenai family."

"You haven't. Your entourage has. And I'm not stupid enough to attempt an assault on the last Kuran survivor. So I come to you, the one he cherishes the most."

OMG! What was with everyone having misunderstandings about me and Kaname?! "To top it off, you're a human." he continued, approaching a bit. "He could have turned you into a vampire to make you stronger, but he did not. Now, I am going to snatch you away from him in the cruellest way possible. Come with me nicely, Katsumi-chan, and maybe I won't hurt you much."

Izumi's face was stretched in a maniacal smile, his lust for vengeance pouring through his handsome features. I felt Takuma's energy shifting behind me and I tapped his chest with my hand, indicating that he should calm down. His public face was long gone, replaced by an angry pair of red eyes and tightened jaws. If he continued, he'd begin disintegrating things and we had already agreed that that was something he could do only when everything else didn't work. I patted his chest one last time and I walked a bit towards Izumi.

"I won't come with you Izumi." I stated, dragging out my katana. "Go away, or I'll have to kill you."

He scoffed. "As you wish." And then I was facing a wave of extremely sharp leaves. Oh dear. "If you feel like you can get out of this alive Katsumi-chan, come forth and fight me."

I sheathed my Katana back in, pulled out my guns and shot. The bullets fizzed through the air, clashed against his wall of leaves and were CRUSHED into flat disks. What was this?! A leaf version of Gaara's sand?! I wasn't in great shape right now, so fighting this type of enemy would be a pain in the ass. And he wasn't even lifting his little finger!

I bit my lip, placing my guns back into their pockets.

"Katsumi-chan, he is dangerous." Takuma said. "He is from a family of dethroned purebloods afterall, he might be stronger than you."

"We're not using your power Takuma. Also, don't lose faith in me so quickly. There are still lots of things that I can do."

I ran towards the wall of leaves, and he launched them towards me. Predictable. The way to avoid them was even more predictable. Be faster. I zigzaged my way towards him, making my turns sudden so he couldn't follow a pattern. Reaching closer, I jumped over his wall, the leaves trimming the tip of my ponytail a bit. On the descent, I pulled out my katana, slashing at him in a smooth motion which made full use of the gravitational force.

Unfortunately, the guy wasn't just one to hide behind his barrier. He blocked my sword with a thin layer of leaves, wrapping the blade up, and then he pulled. I did not let go of my katana and let him drag me into an extremely unnerving embrace. My left hand was already on my gun (which was in a strap at the back of my waist) and all I had to do was take it out and shoot. But he'd already held my hand in place, clasping it in an iron hold against my waist. He'd also surrounded us by a swirl of leaves, so Takuma was completely left out.

"Kill me, Katsumi-chan." he whispered, dragging me closer to his body. "What am I saying? You can't even mo-"

I kicked him in the groin. Hard. Which was why he stopped talking in the middle of his annoying taunt. One shouldn't do speeches in the middle of a fight.

This dissipated his wall of leaves, letting them float down slowly. I shook off the leaves covering my blade and positioned it on the side of his neck.

"Any last words?" I asked, adding slight pressure to the sword.

"Yes." he croaked out, straightening a bit. "I was going to make you into one of my personal and loyal servants, but I think that's a bad idea now." He coughed, moving his head slightly away from the blade. Then he glared at me. "Die bitch."

Saw the leaf attack coming. But my blade was sharper. I twirled around, cutting through as many individual leaves as I could. A few nicks here and there and a small cut on my cheek didn't matter. I heard Takuma yell my name from afar, probably worried. He still hadn't seen me fight in a death match. Of course he'd be worried. I kicked at Izumi, sending him flying against a tree before replying from amidst the continuing swirl. "I'm fine Takuma, don't come here."

"No, Katsumi! Behind you!"

Ok, I hadn't seen the tree coming.

I was smacked on the right side and I immediately fuelled a barrier of vampire energy around my body to reduce the damage. I did not resist the attack, it was a tree afterall. I let myself fly, regaining control of my body as I hit the ground. I landed on my back and tumbled back to get into a crouching position. However, the tree wasn't meant to just hit me. It was meant to swat me in the direction of a certain dethroned pureblood. He kicked me and I let myself fall on my back, hand deliberately behind my waist so I could take out my gun. I was feeling sluggish though, which was why I was going for such a roundabout way of finishing this fight.

I stared up at him as he crouched down and grabbed me by the collar. I took out the gun when he was close enough, but I could not pull the trigger. Rather, I did not. Instead, I watched as his body was pierced through the chest, a hand bloodily emerging from inside his body clawing his heart out and crushing it in one move.

 **You know that a relationship is turning unhealthy, when the other person kills for you.**

I felt blood splatter on my face and gush over my abdomen as Izumi's body was thrown away, revealing Kaname's gleaming red eyes. He helped lift me up, not saying a word.

Takuma had gotten nearer by then, asking if I was ok. I did not answer his question, instead stared at Kaname. The tension grew and the air grew physically more intense.

"Never kill in my presence again Kaname." I ordered, not bothering to disguise it as a request. I bent down to pick up my katana. I was wiping it on my pants when he replied.

"You were going easy on him. At this rate, he would have effortlessly killed you-"

I had my gun out and millimeters away from his temple before he could finish his sentence. "I had the situation under control." I said. "He wasn't even a trained killer, that was why I was going easy on him. And I believed that it was quite clear, Kaname, that I am your bodyguard, not the other way around." I returned the gun back to its pocket.

"You are being unnecessarily emotional." Kaname stated coldly. "Had you gotten so attached to that man?"

I eyed him, examining his stoic features carefully, perfectly aware that my own were twisting in contained anger. "Yes, I was beginning to like him a bit. So maybe I was giving him a bit more time to redeem himself than the others. Why? Are you going to kill everyone I will like now?"

He did not reply and the uneasiness I was feeling grew an inch more. This was an extremely sick situation. I wasn't okay with this turn things were taking. I knew Kaname was protective of me, and that was fine. That was his right as my friend. But despite wanting to, I could not ignore the hints of possessiveness I was seeing in his eyes. He seemed almost… I sighed out. Thinking all of that and getting angry at Kaname wouldn't do anything good. He wasn't even someone from this period of time, so talking sense to him wouldn't work.

I opened my mouth to tell him to just forget about everything, but Kaname had grabbed me by the waist and had hoisted me over his shoulder in the time I took to gasp in surprise. "You're hurt and stained with the blood of a vampire. You need to get cleaned immediately." he stated, walking quickly towards the dorms.

"Let go of me, Kaname! I still need to take care of the mess."

"Takuma will deal with that. And do not worry, Hanabusa Aidou and Akatsuki Kain will be there to help him discreetly." He broke into a swift run. What was with this suddenness? Kaname was running. But Kaname never ran!

"EvEn sO. I don'T lIkE beiNG carrIED liKe a PotaTO saAAAACK." I worded out, my voice rollercoasting with the rhythm of his run. He jumped over the stone pillars, onto the first floor's balcony, then smoothly climbed onto the second floor's balcony, entering our suite by totally skipping the entrance hall and the stairs. Perfect for my tummy.

He did not put me down even as we reached the inside of our room.

"Your shoulder is very uncomfortable Kaname, can you let go please?"

But no, he carried me over to the bathroom, opened the hot water tap and placed me inside the bathtub.

"Strip."

 _Hell no._

"I can wash up by myself, get out and I'll get things done." I said, standing up. But like me, Kaname was in quite a bad mood at the moment. So he did the thing that I already, unfailing squealed at when I read shoujo manga: *wallslapping*.

"Get you clothes off Katsumi," he ordered, voice stiff and jaw clenched, his face centimeters away from mine, "unless you prefer I do it for you."

I glared at him and he immediately backed off. He stepped out of the tub and waited. I pulled the thankfully opaque white curtain around the tub and stripped off my ruined leather outfit.

"Hand them to me." he ordered from behind the curtains. I huffed and threw them all over the railing. Missed his face.

I stuck my head out in the corner to tell him to get lost now, but I ended up witnessing Kaname lighting my pile of clothes on fire, with his bare hands. Never knew he had that power.

He noticed me looking and said "Scrub yourself clean now."

"You're staying?!"

He raised an eyebrow, as if saying 'you should know that it would be too dangerous to leave your bleeding defenseless self here while there is a horde of vampires out there'.

"My weapons are hanging right here Kaname. You can go ou-* _glare_ * fine, stay you stupid pervert!"

I closed the hot water tap and opened the shower instead, taking the stop off to let the bloody water wash away. I heard him sit on the lid of the toilet, which was right next to the tub. Kaname wasn't the type to peep, but I still hurried with the scrubbing.

"Towel." I demanded once I was done. He handed it to me from the side of the curtain. "Go out now, there's no blood anymore. I have look for my clothes anyways." I stated as I dried my hair.

I heard him stand up as I finished wrapping the towel around my body. Then he suddenly pulled the curtain open, making me instinctively reach for my katana. I didn't pull it out upon seeing his closed eyes though.

I sighed out. "You can't stay even if you close your eyes, Kana- get your hands off my face." He was feeling the cut on my cheek with one hand, the other one grabbing my hand to drag me out of the tub. I pulled away. This was enough. "Man, you're creeping me out. Seriously Kaname, you have to stop with these. Even Takuma is thinking strange things about us." I said, carefully stepping out of the bathroom and into our room. I carried my weapons back with me and Kaname followed even with his eyes closed.

I shut the door behind me, leaving him out.

"I mean, I know that it's just your way of showing affection and all, but you should still try to keep yourself-"

"Under control?" he asked as I reopened the door, fully clothed in pajamas.

"Yes." I walked over to the telephone, drying my hair with the towel on the way. I punched in Kaien's number and waited. "Kai-chan. Was it taken care of?"

"Yes. The night class students were a bit agitated but Kaname-kun calmed them down before leaving. Are you fine? Takuma-kun said you were hurt."

"Don't worry, it was just a scratch. And no, I'm not lying, if it would have been worse, I would have whined to you."

"Ok then, take good care of yourself Katsu-chan. And try to not worry Kaname-kun too much."

"Yeah", I said, glancing at Kaname. He was taking his coat off and weirdly seemed to still have his eyes closed. "I'll see you tomorrow Kai-chan."

I hung up and opened my mouth to speak to Kaname again and clear up the awkward atmosphere once and for all, but he beat me to it. "Katsumi. Sleep in Takuma's room today."

"... Why?"

"Just for today. Please." Then he shut himself in our room.

At the same moment, Takuma walked into our suite, asking what happened.

"... It seems I am roomless today. Help me move this couch to your room Taku-chan."

I ended up squatting Takuma's room for two whole months after that incident.

* * *

 **AN: To be honest, I don't know what happened with this chapter. It was all like "bathroom!" and "Kaname!" and "bathroom!". Also, I think Kaname's cannon spirit got jealous that you guys have been liking my version more, so he decided to make a pretty 'steamy' appearance, much to the detriment of our Katsu-chan's peace of mind.**

 **But no seriously, I wasn't in control of the things that happened in this chapter, at all. I don't know how to feel about this, but oh well, I hope you guys liked it.**

 **Please review to tell me what you think was going through Kaname's mind in this chapter, because I honestly have no idea.**

 **Until next time!**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: I hadn't forgotten, I swear! But I still realize that I made some promises while replying to your reviews, promises that I unfortunately couldn't keep :/ So I am apologizing for that. Real life has been (and still is) really shitty in the last few months and I couldn't quite take my mind off of it. But then I got a guest review which had me thinking "Nope. Not anymore. I need to update." So here I am. This chapter isn't very long, but I hope that it will "quench your thirst" (xD) until the next update. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 15

Kaname POV

It burned.

His throat was on fire.

He clenched the silk sheets of the bed and gasped for air.

He had gotten too close, too close to touching her too much. His hands had been on her wounds, he had seen the blood underneath the cleaned cut on her cheek. His restrictions were less strict on Katsumi; she wasn't Yuuki after all. Maybe that was why his control slipped a little and he ended up wanting her. This could only mean one thing in terms of his DNA, but Kaname was adamant about not admitting to it. In a last attempt at holding back, he'd closed his eyes, futilely. He could in fact feel his desire even more strongly. Feel her closeness and the rush of her potent blood even more. Her voice called out to him and he responded, drawing closer.

He wanted her, and why should he not get what he wanted? So he grabbed her and pulled her towards him, fully intent to indulge in what she had to offer. But then he felt it, the thing that made Katsumi so unique, the core of power that she had carefully enveloped with her mind. It was almost nostalgic. And in that moment of nostalgia, he let her slip away.

He was out of his trance then, able to think again about the consequences his actions would have had on this world. Had he crossed the line and bitten her, he'd have ruined the stability that the current state of affairs would bring to Yuuki, and to him. He contemplated the complexity of his relationship with Katsumi, and was almost baffled by the simplicity with which she dismissed his actions as friendly affection. It was not the longing he felt for Yuuki, it was different. And in some ways, it was even more unbearable. As he listened to her calling Kaien, he thought to himself that the ambiguous nature of their connection was maybe for the best. He'd wait. If he was impatient now, he'd lose too much. Patience was key in the game he'd laid out. Katsumi was too. So he'd wait.

"Kaname-kun, are you alright?" he heard Takuma call from outside the room. He swallowed, stabilizing his breath before replying. "Yes. What is it, Takuma?"

"...I need to talk to you."

Kaname's nonexistent sleep completely evaporated at Takuma's hushed tone. This meant that he wanted to talk to him about something Katsumi shouldn't hear. It was probably something important. He stood up and gulped down two blood tablets before wordlessly letting Takuma in.

The Ichijo heir walked further into the room and only then did he begin speaking. "Shouldn't we send Katsumi-chan to live at her father's place?"

"Is it already too hard?"

"That's not it, not totally. She is extremely... careless, which makes things a lot more complicated." Takuma said, obviously hesitating to admit that having Katsumi at his side, in a completely defenseless position as she sleeped, was making him instinctively want to drink her blood. He admired Takuma for that, and for having been able to last this long, eight weeks to be exact. The resistance he showed was also proof of Takuma's undying innocence; something that drew both Katsumi and him to wholeheartedly befriend and protect the boy. "I understand. However, Katsumi will probably never comply with this request", Kaname sighed out, leaning against the post of his bed. "She is quite unreasonable in her wish to protect us. While that is admirable, she has become too oblivious to our... nature. We can try to remind her-"

"What are you guys discussing about so secretly in the middle of the day?" Kaname turned his face away from the door so as not to see a pajama-clad Katsumi enter his room, sleepily rubbing her eyes. He wasn't going to attack her, of course not. But reigning in the thirst was a lot harder if he actually looked at her.

"Katsumi-chan!"

"What?" she asked Takuma, trudging in to sit right beside Kaname. On his bed. The girl was insane.

"Please go back to the room, Katsumi-chan. We're talking about some private matters." Takuma replied diplomatically, which Kaname knew instinctively wasn't going to make Katsumi go away.

"Oh yeah? I noticed that you were being pretty secretive these days. Come on, I'm not your mother, I won't scold you, so you can tell meeeeeaaaaaaaahaaaaaaa" she finished her sentence in a yawn, so Katsumi-like. Then she lied down, "Man, a real bed is so nice, your bed is sho shoft Khaname." As she curled up into her usual sleeping position, Kaname couldn't help missing her, and feeling sorry for the girl who's been sleeping on a couch all this time. He glanced at Takuma, who interpreted his glance as a signal to do something. He walked to the bed and lightly tapped Katsumi onto her shoulder. "Come on, let's go Katsumi-chan. I'll make you some Jasmine tea."

This made Katsumi go into what Kaname recognize as her 'whining mode'. "I dun wanna drink teaaaaa, I wanna sleeeeeeeeeeep. On a beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed."

Kaname huffed, detaching himself from the bed post. "Let it be Takuma. We will continue this conversation later. For now, return to your room please. I will take care of Katsumi." He'd have to do it anyway, if not now, then someday. He could not keep avoiding her forever, he did not even want to do that. Takuma nodded, but he was hesitant to leave the room. "I would never hurt her, Takuma. I am merely trying to find a solution."

"I am not doubting you, Kaname-kun, I would never!" Takuma immediately retort, obviously meaning every word. "It's just that I believe it to be unfair to Katsumi, deciding all of this without including her, I mean." He explained, walking towards the door. "I will return to my room now. Please do consider what I said." Then he left, closing the door behind him. Kaname locked it.

Including Katsumi in a discussion about her own safety was useless. She'd just brush it off. Takuma probably knew it too, but was choosing to discard that thought in favor of 'fairness' to Katsumi.

Kaname walked to the bed and eyed Katsumi's sleeping form. The toned muscles of her arms were partly hidden by the sleeves of her oversized T-shirt, though the pink short she was wearing did a very poor job at concealing her long, slender legs.

Kaname looked away and moved to his nightstand to fill a glass with water. He then threw the liquid over his face. There, that felt better. Now that his head was clearer, he could think about what to do about this problem. He was also ready to take action.

He climbed on the bed.

* * *

Katsumi POV

Haaa, the springy mattress and the soft sheets of Kaname's bed... Paradise couldn't be very far away.

It'd been about 2 months since I'd slept on a bed. I'd been lounging on the initially comfortable but now extremely itchy couch all this time, taking shelter in Takuma's room. While Takuma displayed his worry for me, he categorically refused to let me sleep on his bed. I once tried to rest on his mattress a bit when he was in the shower, but he immediately scolded me, "You shouldn't sleep on a man's bed before marriage, Katsumi-chan! Ok?!" I mean, I understood. I never even insisted, he was a guy after all. It made me think that his reaction was different from Kaname's, a bit father-like even.

Anyways, I had thought about getting a new room to myself, but with a new batch of Night Class students arriving soon, I'd probably have to wait a bit. Once they got used to me, I'd be free move out of these shared rooms. I knew that it must be hard for Takuma and Kaname to stay so close to me since they were trying to curb their bloodthirst, but that was what the challenge of this whole project was! It was probably harder for Kaname, he'd almost lost control last time. Kaien had told me to knock anyone who tried to bite me out clean, that way they'd be able to regain control of themselves when they wake up. It'd be quite simple for me to do that, a simple tap on the neck and done. I didn't want to hurt Kaname though, but maybe it had been a mistake to leave him to deal with his instincts by himself. He hadn't talked to me at all since then, despite all my attempts at making him comfortable again. He was probably going to think that he should be more careful around me so as to not bite me and all that shit. He didn't know that I knew, that I was waiting for him to crack, that it was alright and that I was ready to face this problem head on! But oh well, I'd just have to continue pestering them until they became honest enough to not hide these problems from me. I was sure that was what they'd been discussing about so secretly before I barged in. Hmpf.

*Creeeeeaaaaak*

"Go awaaaay, Takumaaaa. I don't want to return to the couch…" I mumbled, coiling even more tightly so as to avoid whatever was intruding on the bed.

"Katsumi.." I heard a voice call right next to my ear. My sleep jumped out of the window.

My first reflex was to send my arm flying into a slap. Fortunately for him, Kaname caught it in mid-air. I scooted away from him, but didn't snatch away my arm.

"God, Kaname! You need to stop with those hushed voices! It's really creepy (in several ways), ok?!"

"You are the one who needs to stop, Katsumi. You're going to get hurt if you continue staying with us."

I smirked, "Isn't this what you told me when I first joined the Ichijo House?"

"You were lucky to have pleased Takuma's grandfather. I am serious. Also, you are not the only one who might be hurt..." he trailed off, his painful expression speaking clearly of what he meant.

... Oh. I see. For some reason, I had thought that the Kaname I knew wouldn't succumb to his bloodlust for Yuuki. I also remembered that this was around when he accepted blood from Ruka in an attempt to ease the thirst. Since I was so... accessible and close to him this time, he was thinking that he could lose control and bite me. The thing was, I already knew that since I wasn't blind or stupid and since he was pretty obvious. I had already foreseen this happening. While his semi-attack on me almost two months ago had initially surprised me, it had urged me to think more about this whole bloodthirst problem.

That was why I was ready for this reaction. I was in fact waiting for it to happen, for him to finally crack. Otherwise, we would never be able to move forward.

So I asked the question I had pondered over for almost all of the nights I spent lying on Takuma's couch, "Do you want my blood, Kaname?"

Kaname's face whipped up, his face so shocked that it almost shocked me. He must be thinking I was crazy. Couldn't blame him though, even I thought I was crazy. But it was the safest solution. I couldn't have him stalking Yuuki creepily. Plus, Ruka didn't seem as sticky to Kaname this time around and I couldn't really go ask her to please give Kaname some of her blood. I mean, seriously, I had my own pride and I didn't want Akatsuki to hate me. Also... "I won't leave you guys alone, you know that. I won't pretend to be so uncomfortable around you that I have to take precautions as well." I scooted closer to him, cradling his face in my right hand since he was still holding onto my left. "I will not fail to protect either you or Yuuki." He seemed to lean into my touch for a second, then he immediately pulled away.

"Katsumi... You do not understand what you are proposing."

I retracted both of my hands and smirked. "Oh believe me, I have thought this through extensively. This whole setup is a test for you vampires and for the blood tablets. While I believe that it's working ok with the others, your situation is a bit more complicated. I am only going to make things even, so that it is slightly less painful to bear. What do you say?"

His expression remained stoic but his eyes showed that he was unwillingly considering it. "Your father will be furious."

"He won't know." I stated, fiddling around with the sleeve of my oversized t-shirt to get my arms inside. "It's not like I'm going to be your full time blood supply, I'm just going to cure your handicap for a bit."

"That is alright, but would you please wear your clothes properly. What are you even doing, Katsumi?" he asked, undoubtedly being distracted by the odd fiddling I was doing behind my shirt.

"I am taking out the blade I'd hidden in my bra." Kaname unconsciously raised an eyebrow at that, most probably questioning my female sensibility. But I was serious! The place where the iron support usually went was a great place to hide flexible blades. I had lined my whole collection of bras with them!

"Aha!" I exclaimed as I finished extricating one. I removed my hands from my sleeves and looked at Kaname again. His eyes told me that he couldn't be surprised by anything I did now. "This is a bad idea." he stated.

"It's not! Now hurry up and sit down so we can get done with it." I said, tapping the space beside me on the bed.

"What are you even going to do with that..."

"The blade? You don't know?" I asked, thinking that this at least would've been obvious to Kaname.

"... If you plan on cutting yourself to tempt me, then you are a lot more unconscious that I had thought you were. I won't drink your blood, Katsumi. Please go away, will you?"

"Kaname, I'm not dumb. Why would I even want to tempt you? This is so you don't have to bite me. "I said as I grabbed his hand and pulled. The fact that he even let himself fall on the bed was proof that he was either too weak to resist or didn't really want to resist. I climbed over him and yes, once again, he didn't resist. "This is the first and last time I will give you my blood, do you understand? Here's how we'll proceed. I will cut my wrist and I will let you drink the blood which flows from there. No teeth involved, I don't want to become a vampire. Ok?"

Despite all the previous blabla and his initial disapproval, Kaname's eyes were now flashing red in anticipation for blood. He eventually closed them. "Do what you want." he whispered.

I positioned my wrist right above his mouth, which slightly parted at the approach. I didn't want to spill anything. It wouldn't be good for the Night Class to begin smelling blood or for the liquid to stain Kaname's bed afterall. This was a secret, even from Takuma.

And there we go... I made a clean cut on the skin, positioning my wrist so the blood flowed in a straight line.

Kaname made a gasping sound as soon as it entered his mouth. I felt his muscles tense under me and he grabbed my waist. I was thankfully steady enough, so my wrist didn't move. Using the cradling position, I could maintain a certain control over his movements. A feasting vampire was dangerous and while Kaname was surely more... dignified, I was still not taking any chances to let him pounce on me. I let the blood flow and flow, lifting my arm a bit higher at times when Kaname instinctively raised his head to attempt to drink directly from the skin. As the minutes passed, I felt his tight hold on my waist loosen and eventually, he let go. I stopped the blood flow immediately by pressing a finger over the wound. "Are you ok?" I asked Kaname as I got off him. I was worried. There was one thing I hadn't thought about when deciding to go through with this idea. Feeding Kaname my blood like this was cruel, and it went against every honour code of the pureblood/vampire dignity. Throughout the event, Kaname had never looked more humiliated.

He licked his lips to dispose of any trace of blood and rose into a sitting position. "We will never do this again." he said, voice cold and serious.

"I understand." I said as respectfully as I could. This was over now. With some luck, he'd be able to last until the end of Canon with this. Now I had another problem that I had forgotten about. I had blood on the blade and on my wrist that I had to get rid of fast and I had no idea how. I made a move to get off the bed to look for something to wrap my wrist with, but Kaname stopped me. "Give it to me." he ordered, not waiting for a response before snatching the blade from my hand. He swiped his finger over the metal, wiping it clean. Then he brought the blood to his mouth.

Eating the evidence away.

He glanced at me next and told me to give him my wrist, which I naturally refused to do. "It will get in contact with your teeth, Kaname!" I whisper-yelled, careful to enunciate the word "teeth" with an extreme stretching of my cheeks.

"It will not", he said, grabbing my wrist despite the very foreboding "teeth". "I will be careful."

As he neared it to his mouth, I readied my other hand for a punch. If, just if his TEETH even touched slightly, Kaname was going to be violently thrown out of the window. That was how much I DIDN'T want to become a vampire.

But his teeth never touched my skin. He just licked the wound away, which was…

 _... Gross!_

After making sure that there was no leftover blood anywhere, we got to our respective beds and chatted a bit about random things. It was weird to suddenly begin talking about usual things like this after almost not talking at all for so long, but it also felt natural somehow. I quickly fell asleep though and I suppose Kaname went to sleep as well.

True to his pride, Kaname never voiced out/displayed the need for blood again after that day.

Everything returned to normal then; everything was repaired once again, just like the wound, which had healed by morning. A week later, we welcomed the second batch of Night Class students.

You know how, when you were a kid and you opened a random Yugioh card pack to find a God inside? This was the same feeling I got, as if I'd just unpacked the God of Beauty that was Senri Shiki. I hadn't forgotten about him, but I hadn't expected him to be so breathtaking! I would've hugged him on the spot had Takuma not foreseen my intentions and glared at me to behave. Oh, and Rima standing next to him was soooo cuuuuuute! They were like a pair of dolls and oh God, I want to be their mother in my next life. That's decided.

We followed the same procedure as with the first batch, except this time I wasn't surprised when Takuma asked them to not bite me.

The first few days were the usual zombie invasion. Then things got better quickly, quicker even than the first time, and after a few weeks of confirming there was no one who wanted to harm Takuma or Kaname, I could finally visit Kaien.

I'd left the boys under the care of their cannon protectors (Hanabusa and Akatsuki) and I was currently skipping my way towards my second home in this world. I wasn't only going there to chat and steal cookies though. Kaien had something he wanted to talk to me about and he'd specifically requested I meet him alone for that. Ominous, if you ask me.

I opened the door and called out, "Kai-chaaaaan!"

"KATSU-NEEEEEEEEEEE!" And I was ambushed with a hug.

"Yuuuukiiii! Wow, you braided your hair!" I exclaimed, eyeing the intricate crown braid on top of her small head. She was almost the same age as me, yet she was so much smaller and cuter!

"Yes! Tou-chan did it for me." she said, shooting out a 20-carat smile.

"It's very pretty!" I complimented, allowing myself to squeal before catching my breath and looking up again. "Where is Kai-chan, by the way?"

Immediately, she inhaled and yelled out behind her, "TOU CHAAAAN! SHE'S HEEEERE!"

... Wow. For all her little, cute demeanor, that was one loud voice.

We heard some shuffling coming from the kitchen and I watched as Kaien stumbled through the living room door while taking off his apron.

"Katsu-chan, you came-" Then he tripped and fell flat on his face. The usual.

We didn't have time to go help him though, since he got up immediately and rushed towards us. "Come on, let's go. We don't have much time."

"What, but where are we going?" I asked as he shuffled us out of the house and locked the door.

He motioned for us to get in the car and got himself in the driver's seat before answering, "To the Hunters Association."


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: There you go, my lovelies. You might notice that this update may not be my best, but this is what I could churn out while working 3 jobs six days a week, 12-16 hours a day (yes, I was being suicidal, I know) so please make do with this for now. I will soon be a lot more stable in terms of time, I think :3 So don't be too disappointed :3 Good stuff will arrive soon!**

* * *

Chapter 16

The Hunter's Association. A literal fortress with literal knights.

"Kaien Cross! It has been a long time! Have you been doing well?", a colourful man (or woman, I couldn't tell) exclaimed as soon as we passed the entrance of the building. I kind of vaguely remembered the person from the series, the President if I was right. I had never really paid much attention to him.

"Not so much." Kaien replied, his tone a lot less energetic than usual, stoic even. That spoke volumes about his enthusiasm in coming here. Despite it being a place where he had worked for the better part of his life, Kaien didn't seem thrilled coming back to the Association.

 _Then why even bring us here?_ I thought as I stood behind him, right beside Yuuki. I also didn't like this place, hadn't had much of a good experience in one of their branches the first time after all. I shifted a bit, putting myself in front of Yuuki to shield her from the curious glances that the occupants of the hall were sending us. Most of them were just blinking in awe at seeing the now retired 'Vampire Without Fangs', but some of the gazes went past Kaien. So I wasn't taking any chances. Instinctively, I had already checked out the place within a glance, identifying all the exits and covers. Just in case. The perks of being a bodyguard.

Eventually, the President also looked past Kaien and asked who we were.

"They're my daughters." Kaien replied, moving slightly to further shield us from the gazes. "Considering the circumstances, I want to make them able to defend themselves."

Peeking a bit from behind Kaien, I saw a calculating glint flash in the Chief's eyes as he made a grand welcome motion with his arm, "But of course! Do you wish to register them in the training pro-"

"None of that." Kaien interrupted, cutting the man short and beckoning us to follow him as he took a step forward. "I will only be heading downstairs for a bit."

Suddenly, the President snapped his fan in front of Kaien to prevent him from passing, "One second, Cross-san. You might be a valued ex-member of the Association, but by no way can you suddenly barge in the headquarters and do as you please."

The tension in the room had silenced every little chatter going on as everyone turned their attention to us.

But that tension was nothing compared to the air around Kaien. He was quiet as he removed his glasses and slowly handed them to me.

 _Ok_ , I thought as I took his glasses, _is this going to get dirty?_ I repressed a smirk. After all, seeing Kaien go all out would be worth the destruction. Future be damned.

He pressed his hand on the President's shoulder, causing the latter to flinch. He then whispered something in his ear, something none of us could hear. It must have been quite something, since the President paled to become whiter than the powder he had over his face.

Kaien then released the President and motioned for us to follow him. As we advanced through the hall, a few guards tried to stop us from passing. They were immediately rebuffed by the President, who ordered them to not bother Kaien and his company. _Dear, what an effective whisper._

I handed Kaien his glasses back as we began to climb down some stairs. "You'll have to tell me what you said to him, Kai-chan."

Kaien smiled mysteriously, "I might, someday. But for now, we'll focus on the matter at hand."

We reached something like a labyrinth and Kaien guided us through various intertwining corridors until we crossed a door which led to another staircase. This one went down too, even further down than the first one.

I kept Yuuki close to me the whole time, never letting go of her hand. As we descended further into the dark, an uneasy feeling began to form in my chest.

"Um, Kai-chan?" I called out, relaxing a bit when I heard the close response. "You still haven't told us what we're here for."

"I will tell you in a few minutes. For now, please focus on not falling."

 _Ok. Alright. Focus on the steps huh. Easier said than done in this... pitch black place._ In such cases I would have normally used my energy to light up a blue aura. But I was getting the feeling that it was a bad idea in this place. The coiling I felt intensified as we finally got to a small dungeon. It was lightly lit by a soft blue light coming from a huge well that was in the middle of the dark room. It was a familiar blue. _Oh God._

"This is the well that provides vampire hunters with their weapons."

 _Oh no._

"It was made from the sacrifice of a vampire ancestress."

 _Please._

"We're here today to borrow her power to get you two a weapon."

 _I don't want to._

"Kai-chan, I don't need a vampire hunter weapon. I'm leaving."

I turned around, but Kaien immediately grabbed onto my shoulder to stop me. "Wait, Katsumi-chan. This is for your protection. After all that happened with the Kurenai boy last time, I need to make sure that you have something that can protect you."

"My job is to protect vampires, not to kill them. I don't need this." I said, struggling in his grasp. _The darkness. Suffocating. Don't want. Don't want. Don't-_

"This blue liquid is so pretty~~~"

I snapped my head up just in time to see Yuki tiptoe over the well, about to fall in.

Kaien and I both lunged forward to grab her and as we pulled her up, the blue liquid that she was so mesmerized by followed her. It crawled out of the well, up Yuki's arm, to her head, to me.

* * *

I blinked, opening my eyes to a luxurious painting embossed into the ceiling. A painting by a famous artist who I couldn't remember at the moment. Kaien slowly appeared in my vision. "Are you ok, Katsumi-chan?" he slowly worded out.

"No." I said, moving my limbs slowly to test the extent of the damage. Because yes, there was damage. My whole body felt like a headache and as I got into a sitting position, I could clearly identify the main pain zone as my chest. Felt like I had been shot through. "Wha happened?" I asked, reluctant to speak since even my jaws were hurting.

"Well, you passed out." Kaien said, very helpfully. When I glared at him a little, he elaborated, "You collapsed as soon as the well water touched you. We didn't know why, so I brought you here. It's a hotel room near the Association." he added at the raise of my eyebrow.

 _Of course,_ I thought, he wouldn't bring me home after I collapsed. Whatever that water had done to me, there was a large probability that it was unstable. And even I wouldn't bring an unstable me near Yuki or the Night Class. Speaking of...

"Yuki?"

Kaien settled back down on his chair before replying, "You scared her a bit when you collapsed, but apart from that, she's ok. Things worked out smoothly for her. She was identified by the ancestress and got assigned her weapon. I am absolutely confused as to why you had such a reaction to the rite." I got up slowly, trying to reign in the urge to vomit as Kaien rambled on. "It can't be a rejection of your vampire energy since I did not feel anything when I got my weapon. It might be an allergic reaction on your part but..." I felt nauseous. I stumbled across the room, leaned against the cupboard and threw up in the expensive-looking vase, with the flowers still in. That didn't feel better. I couldn't breathe.

I felt Kaien put his hands on my shoulders to support me as I drifted to the windows. I swung them open, threw my weight over the sill and took deep breaths of the cold night air.

"Katsu-chan... what is happening to you...?"

I don't know. I really...

* * *

Darkness.

* _fzsshhhh_ *

The scratch of a single small match.

A single small flame, blue and orange.

Held in between ghost hands, glowing within the empty room.

I got nearer, to get away from the dark behind me. But it got farther away. So I stopped.

The crackle of the flame grew louder, turning into a whisper.

 _*Do you remember?*_

I don't know. Do I want to remember?

 _*I don't know.*_

The fire blows out. The hands disappear.

And it's dark again.

* * *

The next time I woke up, I was in my room. Not the one back at the Moon dorm, but my own room in Kaien's home. The curtains were drawn, but the soft glow of daylight still filtered through. Everything was calm and I could even hear the rhythmic tick tock of the clock in the corridor. I was no longer in pain, just the chest which still had a dull throb to it. I shifted a little, but didn't get up immediately. There was a hand on top of my head and someone sitting next to me on the bed.

"Feeling better, Katsumi-kun?" Kaname asked, soothingly caressing my head. Strange, I would have never thought to use the term 'soothing' with Kaname before... I still didn't move to get up.

"What time is it?"

"Noon. Do you want to get up?"

"No."

"Alright, then I will stay here until you feel better."

I hummed, curling up to get back to sleep. But I remained still over the bed with my eyes open, basking in Kaname's surprisingly soothing presence.

"What happened?" I asked.

Kaname sighed slightly and spoke in a low tone, angry almost, "Your father took you and Yuki to the Association's well to get you two weapons. Things didn't go as planned."

"Why?"

"Why indeed? When he brought you back from the hotel, you were sick. Terribly so. It seems that your body rejected the well water's power and was bent upon getting rid of it, even at the cost of self-destruction."

"Then why am I ok now?"

"I do not understand myself, but it looks like you were more appreciative of my vampire energy than the well's."

At that, I sprang up, grabbing Kaname by the collar to bring him closer to my eyes. "You didn't, right?! You didn't do **THAT** , did you?!" I hissed.

Kaname eyed me steadily and unclasped my hands from his coat. "I did not turn you into a vampire, if that is what you are worried about. I merely pulsed my vampire energy into your body in an attempt to end the... inner conflict. We were all surprised when it worked."

 _Thank God_ , I thought, flopping back onto the bed.

Kaname suddenly stood up. "Where are you going?" I asked.

"You seem better, so I am going to inform your father and Takuma that you have woken up."

"Oh." _Didn't he say that he'd stay till I was ready to get up?_

Right before leaving, Kaname turned around and stared at me with severe eyes. "Remember that I will not hesitate to turn you into one of my kind if you ever find yourself on the brink of death, and that whether you'd agree to it or not. So take better care of yourself if you do not want that to happen."

Then he slammed the door shut.

I didn't have time to ponder over that before the door was thrown open again as Kaien and Takuma stumbled in. Takuma rushed inside and engulfed me into a bear hug, all the while rambling on that he had been so worried and asking if I was ok.

"Aww, Taku-chan, I'm fine, see?" I cooed, enjoying the affectionate gesture.

"I can hardly see that, Katsumi- chan! Let me look at you." he unattached himself from me and trailed his eyes over my face to see if I was ok. Then he hugged me again.

"Thank goodness. You are alright." he sighed out.

I noticed that Kaien was standing awkwardly by the door, looking down. Did Kaname chew him out that much?

I moved to make Takuma let go of me so I could go to Kaien. "Kai-chan, I am ok now. You wouldn't have known that I'd react like that, so it's fine." I said, slowly approaching him lest he ran away. He'd done that before.

"I'm sorry, Katsu-chan." he murmured.

"Like I said, it was an accident. It happens! Come on, let's hug and forget about this already."

"I'm sorryyyyyyyy!" he wailed, running away.

"Wait! Kai-chan! A-ah! It hurts!"

He suddenly reappeared, "Where? Where does it hurt?"

I grasped his arms, "Nowhere." I smiled, couldn't believe the classic trick still worked. "You see? I'm F.I.N.E."

Kaien fussed a little more, then eventually gave in when Kaname glared at him. Yup, he must have gone really strong with the scolding.

"Where's Yuki?" I asked after everyone had settled down.

"She's at school. She did not want to go, but I preferred to send her to keep her mind... as off these things as possible."

Ok. I couldn't really wait for her since I'd messed up by abandoning my duties for so long (I didn't give a damn though, I'd fainted bruh, that was big!) but I still had to talk to her so she wouldn't worry.

 _Wait, abandon my duties? Weren't Kaname and Takuma with me the whole time?_

I smirked. Can take a break then.

"I'm gonna shower and change. I'll leave them to you for a bit more, Kai-chan." I called out to Kaien, gathering towels and clothes around the room. The boys had left for the living room to give me some privacy so I could change, but really, a shower at least was very needed at this point.

"Of course." Kaien replied from where he was brewing tea in the kitchen.

"Oh, and don't give masala chai to Takuma", I told him out loud as I walked towards the bathroom, "He can't handle the spices." But even as I said that, I knew it was too late since I could hear the coughing already. My inner sadist laughed.

Inside the bathroom, I removed the remaining of the belts that the boys hadn't been able to untie. Oh well, they had at least removed the bulky weapon harness. There, the third and last one was off. Agh, finally off with the pants. The rest was easy to take off. I sighed as I got under the hot water. One by one, slowly, all the knots over my body untied themselves. Once I was done, I wrapped myself in a towel, remembering once again that this was one of my favorite clothing items. Haa, it'd been a long time since I'd felt this good. I felt... free, such a contrast from the hell I'd gone through earlier.

I stood in front of the mirror to wash my face, wiping the mist off the glass to see my face. That was when I saw it. Something on my skin, slight to the left of my chest. Right over my heart. The towel was covering a part of it, so I moved it down a bit. A golden tattoo sat on my skin, a heart with 3 daggers piercing it from 3 sides. "What in the.." I inched closer to the mirror, holding the basin to stand on my toes. Yes, it was there, and now that I looked closer, I could see thin chains extending from the heart. I hastily took off the towel and gasped at the many rows of chains that were wrapped around my body. I tried to use my blue energy to pulse at the tattoo from inside. Why I did that, I have no idea. Maybe to check if the tattoo was magical or something.

But it was a bad idea. A very bad idea.

I fell on the floor, letting out a silent scream.

 _God. Oh God. Shit. What was this? WHAT IS THIS?!_

Imagine the worst cramp ever on your chest area. Taking over your neck and your stomach. No breath passes through, almost no beat makes it through.

I immediately cut off the energy access, withdrawing the power completely. Then slowly, the pain receded. Once it was mostly gone, I let out a breath. My fingers were still trembling.

* * *

"Chains?"

"Yes."

Kaien hummed, "It's hard to tell without actually seeing it."

I sat back in the couch. It wasn't like I could show it to them, I mean, no. I glanced at Kaname. There was a possibility that he had something to do with it. He was the one who had calmed me down just before I saw the tattoo after all. But no, the Vampire Knight Kaname might have done something, not this one. Even if he had placed this... this seal on me, he would have already given us details about it by now. It wasn't him. And if it wasn't him, it was probably the well.

"Is there no way for that well to take this back?" I asked.

"Not that I know of that wouldn't hurt you. It usually gives out physical weapons, and the only thing you have to do if you want to get rid of them is to drop them inside the well again."

I huffed. "At this rate, I can't use my vampire energy at all."

Kaien blinked and Kaname and Takuma turned to look at me. "Why can't you?" Kaien asked.

"The chains prevent me from using it. If I even try to use it, and I did try, well... let's just say that it hurts." I smiled crisply, "A lot." Just remembering it was painful, so there was no need to describe it to them.

After a moment of them wondering what to say, I stood up. "Doesn't really matter." I said, attaching the weapon belt I'd been fiddling with to my torso. "It's not like that's the only thing I can do. I'll just have to be more careful, that's all."

"But, Katsu-" Takuma started, only to be cut off by Kaien.

"I will look into that tattoo and see if I can find any information on it. Meanwhile, I believe that you are strong enough to overcome whatever comes your way. Right, Katsu-chan?" he said, an odd gleam shining on his glasses.

I placed my guns and sword in their respective sheaths on the harness. I looked at him seriously as I replied, "That's right. Let's go now, Takuma, Kaname. We've been away from the Moon Dorms long enough."

 _That's right. Strong enough. I was strong. I'd always been strong and there was no way I'd become weak because of something like this. Not before, not now, not ever._

On the way out, we bumped with Yuki who was returning home from school. Upon seeing me, she rushed to hug me, sputtering out "sorry"s and "are you ok"s. I managed a smile to reassure her, listened to her as she quickly told me about Artemis and promised her that I'd come see her again as soon as I had some free time. Then I was off, a shaking feeling in my heart as I headed back to the Moon Dorms with the boys flanking me on each side.

 _Strong._ I thought as we went through the doors. _Strong._ I said to myself as I faced an angry Hanabusa and the usual bunch of jeering vampire brats. _Strong._ I thought to myself throughout the night as I accompanied Takuma and Kaname and performed my routine bodyguard duties. _Strong?_ I asked to myself as I lay on my bed, Kaname sleeping on his bed beside me. _Since when did I have to remind myself to be strong? What was happening? Something is wrong? What is wrong?_

I sat up on my bed, swallowing spit to ease my increasingly dry throat. I had been feeling strange ever since that bathroom attack, no, ever since I'd come into contact with that well, though that was a given. I could still feel phantom pains all over my chest from where it had been almost crushed. But that wasn't what was bothering me. There was a strange tightening around my throat ever since, an unease similar to what I had felt when I had woken up with Kaien in that hotel room, but watered down so it wasn't as bad. Still, it had returned after that incident with the chain tattoo and was trying to… do something… pull me somewhere I didn't want to go. I breathed out, sweeping my hair back only to notice that my forehead was drenched in sweat. I sighed, I didn't want this to happen. _This type of thing… I wasn't supposed to feel this. This isn't me. I had always been stronger than this, so why now? Why-_

I froze. It might have been my imagination, but I'd just heard a whisper to my left. Deciding it was just a rustle, I continued tying my hair.

* _ember_ *

I gasped and flinched away as I heard a faint whisper again. My eyes were well trained to see in the dark, and there was clearly nothing there. What what? A ghost? No no, I had slept in this room before and there was no ghost here. My hand inched to the gun I kept hidden beneath the right side of my bed as I kept my eyes trained on where I'd heard the whisper. Before I could reach the weapon, I heard it again, more clearly this time, * _remember_ *.

So close to my left ear, I stumbled backwards, pulling the gun out and aiming at the voice, "Who's there?" I called out, backing away until my back touched Kaname's bed. Kaname put a hand on my shoulder, asking in a soft voice what was wrong.

Another whisper with the same * _ **remember**_ * to my left. A female voice, crystal clear. I slapped my hand over my left ear, turning around to point the gun at the voice. "Get out." I said, pulling the trigger. "Get out before I hurt you."

Kaname gently pushed my arm down, "Katsumi-kun, there is no one in the room right now other than you and I."

I looked at him, heard the whisper again and struggled out of his grasp to aim at the voice. "I know, I can't see her too. But I hear something. And it's getting closer, and closer." I gasped, bring my hands to my head as the voice began ringing inside my head. _What am I doing? Am I going crazy? I'm supposed to react a lot more calmly than that, react with precision and effectiveness. But I- I wasn't doing anything right!_

* _ **remember remember remember remember**_ *

"Get out!" I tried to knock the gun against my head, but Kaname grabbed my hand.

* _ **look**_ *

 _No._

"Look!"

"No!"

Kaname grabbed my head and made me face his way. "Look at me, Katsumi!"

* _ **katsumi**_ *

 _No._

* _ **look at me**_ *

Look at me.

* * *

That night, I went completely berserk. I wandered around, hitting objects and muttering strange things, according to what Kaname told me. I only remembered waking up the next afternoon to find Takuma and Kaname hovering over me worriedly, the room completely messed up.

Strangely, when I woke up, I wasn't feeling sick or hearing things anymore, I was ok. I was feeling good again, in control. So I decided that that was how I was going to feel from then on. No more letting the chain tattoo, or whatever that well had given me, affect me anymore. For the physical seal it had put over my vampire energy, I couldn't do anything about it. But for the rest, for my sanity, I was determined to protect myself.

And that determination was all I needed. The next time I heard a whisper, I shut it down with willpower. The next time I felt my body begin to drown beneath the pressure of that foreign power, I held myself as high as I could so nothing could even touch me. That was what I did, and it worked.

Of course it did, I was strong.

I am strong.

As long as I knew that, as long as I kept myself and my psyche in check, I'd be alright. As long as I knew myself and did not lose what made me **ME** , I'd be fine.

Besides, right now was not the time to let a f***king tattoo or a semi-alive well mess me up. I needed both my body and my head to get me through the shit that was about to go down.

The best way to go about it was to smile and tell it f**k off. Yes, I was swearing a lot, thing I had toned down a bit for the past few years. But well, circumstances called for some serious b*tchiness level up.

So I let my confidence boom, smiling wickedly at the *voice* so that it vanished instantly whenever it had the bad idea to speak up.

I happily smirked at anyone who tried to harm Kaname or Takuma, and viciously laughed as they all ran away screaming, scared of what the 'Unnamed Angel' would deign do to them. Soon, very soon, the residents of the Moon Dorms whom I was not close with began to avoid me, some out of annoyance, some out of fear. I gained a dark reputation in the underworld and that made Takuma's grandpa very happy. He did not even realise that I could not use my vampire energy anymore, he maybe would not have cared if he knew. After all, I was doing such a great job at protecting his boys and his name by being a bigger, scarier monster than ever before. He could only love me for it.

Speaking of, no one else aside from Takuma, Kaname and Kaien knew about the chains. As if we'd be dumb enough to let word of that get to anyone else. That was also why Kaien was having a very, very hard time getting info about the tattoo. He had gotten nothing yet and the Academy was opening its gates to human students soon. Very soon.

Oh well, guessed that was how it was going to turn out.

The day I finally put on the Cross Academy uniform, the white Night Class one, I felt something I hadn't felt since a long time ago. I was really, really going to experience Vampire Knight, the anime/manga which was no longer an anime/manga. This was really going to happen. I bit my lip, a moment of hesitation allowing the *voice* to slip through just a little. * _ **are you scared**_ * It asked, and I immediately replied with a mental ' _No._ ', boosting up my energy, my very own core human energy since I couldn't use my vampire one anymore. This made the voice go away again. I'd gotten used to it a bit, so I didn't freak out like I did the first time anymore.

I stayed calm about it.

And as a side-effect, I could also remain calm about most situations. Even when I saw Yuuki talking with Kaname, both in their uniforms, and felt a pit of foreboding in my stomach, I remained calm.

Even when I walked along Takuma and Kaname down the path that led to the Academy, seeing the beautiful place that Kaien had turned the castle grounds into, knowing what disaster would befall it soon, I remained calm.

The only thing that had me drawn out of my calm a bit, into a mini state of shock, was when I saw Zero walking towards the entrance of the Sun Dorms, bickering with Yuuki while Ichiru smiled to his right. I stopped in my tracks, mouth hanging slightly open.

"Katsumi-chan? Is there something wrong?" Takuma asked, looking at where I was looking.

MY mouth clicked shut. "Nothing. Let's go." I told him, grabbing Takuma by the collar and dragging him towards the school so as to prevent him from paying too much attention to Zero and Ichiru.

For all the remaining of the way, I had to fight a smile which threatened to spread over my face. I bit my lip to prevent the grin from breaking through as warmth finally spread through my heart after long months of cold control.

Seriously, if this wasn't a good start, I didn't know what was.

* * *

AN: :3 :3

A bit cheesy, I know. Thank you for bearing with it for this chapter.

Also, I know that this is not a good time, but I'd like to be so bold as to ask for fanart :P  
*OMG I DID IT*

This story's 2nd year is approaching, so I want to, you know, kinda celebrate :)

I want to change the cover of the story, so my plan is to change it each time I update (if I get any fanart :3)

You can send anything you do with regards to this story to my tumblr:

Ps: If you are worried about your skills, worry not, I am a lot worse than you could ever be at drawing :D

See you next time :) 3


	17. Chapter 17

**AN:**

 **… Hi. … It's been six months. I have no words. But I do have an excuse! My life is currently changing drastically. Very drastically. I have been busy in the past months and will probably be very busy in the following ones as well. I have no idea when I'll be able to update again, even though I can promise you guys that I will. Still, I don't want you to get disappointed, so don't expect any updates soon. I'm not abandoning this story, I'll keep writing it till I finish it even if it takes decades.**

 **Until next time, I wish you great days ahead**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own VK.**

* * *

Chapter 17

Hanabusa POV

Katsumi was annoying.

Not even a week had passed since they had started going to the Academy and she was already breaking so many rules. She wasn't wearing her uniform properly, she clung to Kaname-sama all the time and sometimes even went further and insulted him! She was so insufferable, especially since nobody seemed to reprimand her about her actions. Kaname-sama let her do as she pleased, the teachers had no power over the class and Chairman Cross counted even less in her case. It was like she owned the place, which she did, but it annoyed Hanabusa still. After all, she was human! A strong human with insane guts, but still a human. She should not be here, in the Night Class, conversing/verbally fighting with Ruka as if the latter was just a classmate. She shouldn't even be staying with them at the Moon Dorms.

At first, Hanabusa had thought that she wouldn't be at the vampire dorms for long, but weeks and months passed without anyone questioning her presence there. Her being a bodyguard to Kaname-sama and Takuma-san was still not an excuse enough in his mind. She could have spent her life protecting and living with vampires, a human still shouldn't be able to blend in so... easily. A human, any human, would not be able to brush aside vampire conversations about blood-feeding as smoothly as she did. Hanabusa had observed humans, he knew how they functioned, what their instincts were. They'd feel uncomfortable, they'd flinch, they'd scream and run away when facing the natural predators that were vampires. Even taking her vampire hunter background into consideration, Katsumi wasn't supposed to go around touching, hugging various vampires, himself included, when she was aware that they could easily immobilize her to drink her blood. But all of that was nothing compared to her complete disregard of Kaname-sama's authority. That was something that was impossible, and that was what intrigued Hanabusa about Katsumi.

He had heard her converse with Kaname-sama in a way that even Takuma-san couldn't. He had seen her actually get angry at an already actually angry Kaname-sama when most other people on this planet, himself included, could only cower in fear.

That had made him wary. That had made him curious, curious enough to do some research about Katsumi. When all he got was pictures of Katsumi cosplaying as various cute characters when she was a baby, Hanabusa had gotten annoyed again. Granted he had cooed and awwwed and he had copied some of the pictures to use as blackmail material before getting annoyed, but still. Not knowing why something was functioning the way it was drove Hanabusa crazy.

Sighing, he stood up from his seat in the classroom, no longer able to bear the sight of Katsumi playfully harassing Shiki and Rima without gagging. The teacher was already immersed into his tirade about boring socioeconomic implications, so Hanabusa didn't bother notifying his leave. Instead, he called out to Akatsuki, "Come with me to the toilet."

"Why?"

Hanabusa bristled, "Doesn't matter why, just come!"

"Ok, ok, let's go." Akatsuki said, sighing coolly as he stood up to accompany him.

Once outside the classroom, Hanabusa, of course, didn't go to the toilet. He wandered around the building, heading outside to get some fresh air, Akatsuki wordlessly at his side.

Even more than getting annoyed at Katsumi, Hanabusa had gotten very, very bored in that classroom. He needed something new, or at least, something exciting.

And that was exactly what he got.

Dragging Akatsuki with him, Hanabusa gracefully stumbled across two Day Class girls, one of whom was hurt. But what had attracted him to this clearing on the Academy grounds wasn't them. It was Yuki-chan, standing beside the girls with her weapon out and releasing a scent of blood that smelled so delicious, it compared to nothing Hanabusa had ever smelled in the past.

"Did you perhaps get hurt, Yuki-chan?" Hanabusa asked as he instinctively got into his predatory mode.

He watched as a puzzled look grew on her face. Then she glanced at her hands and cursed, noticing the wound that Hanabusa had smelled. Hanabusa smiled, walking closer. Yuki clasped her weapon even tighter and swung to keep a distance between them. Hanabusa almost cooed at his little prey's attempts at defending itself. Yuki-chan was like a kitty to him, he thought as he pushed the vampire hunter stick aside, a very delicious looking kitty. He gently, but firmly took hold of her injured hand, admiring the wound that was letting the blood out. Then he lowered his mouth towards the hand.

 _Just a bite_ , he thought to himself, _a little bite would hurt no one_.

But then, just as Hanabusa was about to plunge his fangs into Yuki-chan's tender skin, he heard the voice that he dreaded the most on this planet. A voice so sickeningly sweet when addressed to him that he instinctively shuddered.

"Hana-chaaaaan? Whatever are you thinking about doing to my cute little sister?" Katsumi's voice drawled out, right next to his ear.

Hanabusa yelped, backing away from Yuki and falling on his back side in the move.

Katsumi eyed Yuki-chan's hand, sighed minutely, then returned her menacing, smiling eyes towards Hanabusa. He gulped. He had seen Katsumi in action, he'd seen her drenched in blood, skin sticky with the ashy remains of vampires when she was but a child. Her eyes had never held the innocence of a child though. If Yuki-chan was like a kitty, then Katsumi was a tigress, cunning and hungry and dangerous. Despite her aura lacking that deadly weight he had felt the first time, Hanabusa still paled as she prowled her way towards him.

Panicking, Hanabusa glanced around the place to look for a way out. Noticing Akatsuki, who was completely ignoring him to look at the moon, Hanabusa called out.

But Katsumi readily interrupted him, "Oh, Akatsuki won't be able to help you out of this. Right, Akatsuki-kun?"

Akatsuki at first looked like he was about to say something, but the "-kun" made him click his mouth shut.

You see? This was Katsumi. The only human, vampire hunter or not, who could scare a grown noble vampire into silence. Even the chairman, powerful as he might have been, wasn't able to do that. But there was another side to Katsumi than her terrifying self. There was her annoying self, which Hanabusa was once again confronted with as Katsumi engulfed him in a hug. Through with the amount of pressure she was putting in her hold, he was surprised he didn't hear anything crack.

She giggled, the sound terribly eerie next to his ears. "You will never attempt that again, right, Hanabusa-kun?"

Hanabusa paled even more and was about to acquiesce when he heard the most wonderful voice of the entire universe.

"Katsumi, let him go." Kaname-sama ordered, and Katsumi complied immediately, releasing him with an easy smile.

Hanabusa sighed a sigh of big relief, letting himself fall on his butt again. Akatsuki came to help him up almost immediately, but he ignored the helping hand in favour of calming down and observing the scene in front of him. Kaname had arrived accompanied by two Day Class male students whom Hanabusa vaguely remembered as the other prefects who controlled the traffic of Day Class students at sunset. Together with Katsumi, they were all hovering around Yuki's small form, wrapping her hand in a handkerchief as she assured them that she was fine.

 _Suspicious_. The whole lot of them was suspicious. But try as he might, he couldn't pinpoint exactly what. Hanabusa huffed, finally taking Akatsuki's hand to lift himself off the ground.

"We will leave them to you then, Yuki." Kaname-sama said, smiling to the girl before turning around. He then began to walk away from the clearing, back towards the school.

Hanabusa and Akatsuki followed him, with Katsumi trailing behind their backs.

And if Hanabusa could feel the thick tension which sandwiched him between Kaname-sama and Katsumi, he made sure not to comment on it.

* * *

Katsumi POV

That had been a close call. Too much of a close call.

If I hadn't noticed Hanabusa leaving the room, if Rima hadn't intervened in my Shiki-teasing moment, if I hadn't suddenly, oh so suddenly, remembered that specific scene (Hanabusa with Akatsuki, as he bit Yuki in front of two human girls), all that Kaname and I had worked for all those years would be destroyed. I didn't know why, but I was inclined to believe that the spell Juuri had casted on her would start to break. If Yuki began to crack, things would go down a spiral of doom, for Kaname, for Takuma, for Kaien, for Yuki herself and for me.

Seriously though, I had let my guard down. Now that the Academy events had finally started, I should be, should have been, a lot more alert. But this was Hanabusa! _**Hanabusa**_! He wasn't even a danger, wasn't level-E or pureblood or anything, yet he had almost destroyed everything.

I wasn't angry at him, not as much as I was at myself anyway. Hanabusa's actions were understandable, I should have foreseen them.

Reaching the classroom, I sat down next to Takuma, dropped my head on the table and sighed. Getting angry at myself was useless as well. Nothing had happened. Thank God. I'd just have to make sure nothing else happens. Maybe this incident was necessary after all, as a reminder of this that could go wrong.

The class continued on, the tension high as the students gossiped about what had happened. They didn't know the details, of course. But that didn't mean that they hadn't seen me jump out the window, Kaname following calmly behind (through the door).

What was next? I didn't even remember anymore! Wasn't Yagura supposed to come around sometime? I cursed my stupid memory. If I could remember how hot Hanabusa had been, why were the plot elements slipping past my mind?

 _The only thing I am sure of_ , I thought, biting my lip, _is that Rido is going to come after Yuki. And he's going to bring hell with him._

Later on in the day, I walked into Kaname and my room and glared at the stupid black-haired pureblood. I had just returned from the last patrol of the day and had stumbled across Hanabusa, standing in the corridor, holding buckets of water in each hand plus one on his head. Granted it was funny, but-

"Was that really necessary?" I asked, slamming the door close behind me.

Kaname did not even glance up from the book he was reading as he droned out a reply, "It was a fair punishment."

"Was it? It just looks like it will attract more suspicion. He did not bite her, you could have just brushed it off!"

He glanced up this time, "I refuse."

"Oh come on," I huffed and unfolded my blanket. "It's not like he'd even try doing it again. I made sure of that, as you saw." Kaname did not reply. I lied down and switched my bedside lamp off.

Then, just as I was closing my eyes for the day, "Katsumi."

I sighed and turned towards him, "What?"

Kaname was facing me fully this time, book face down on his lap. "You should refrain from bluffing so much, they are bound to notice if you continue to overdo it like this."

I chuckled, "What? Are you talking about what I did earlier with Hanabusa? Don't worry, he's still scared of me because of that party incident. Most of them are, actually."

"That is exactly why they would never hold back or hesitate before attacking you. You are a threat, at least that's what they think. But as you are, you would not be able to last long against one of the nobles. So please act more responsibly."

I opened my mouth to argue, but Kaname had already returned to his book, expression closed and leaving no room for further discussion. I turned back to my original position, facing the wall, my back to Kaname.

It had been months since I'd lost access to the vampire energy in my body. It was locked behind the chains of the weapon that the Ancestress' well had given me, the tattoo on my body. I could feel the energy churning in that golden cage, restless. I never attempted to unlock it again though, one disastrous try had been enough. I stood in front of the mirror in our bathroom almost every night, observing the tattoo and the way it curved around my torso. Almost every night, I traced the golden lines, poked at the intricate designs to try and find a key. Almost every night, I frowned in disappointment at the lack of progress and crouched, several times, by the sink to refrain from attempting any drastic measures. It was hard, but I pulled through, almost every night.

Then sometimes, I had to take care of the mercenaries who would try to kidnap, harm or kill Kaname or Takuma. Each time, it got a bit harder to fight them off. No matter how much I trained, each time, I grew slightly slower, slightly weaker. I could still beat Ichio's guards (sans Raphael), so that was probably why I was still able to stay beside Kaname and Takuma as their bodyguard. But I was starting to get scared. If things continued like this, without me being able to get rid of this tattoo, I'd end up helpless in a very, very dangerous world.

* * *

Days later, I awoke to screams in the afternoon. I jumped off my bed, gun out and glanced over to Kaname's side. I almost panicked upon seeing that he wasn't in bed. Had I finally done it? Had my incompetence let enemies touch Kaname and Takuma?

Before I could run around and wreak havoc, Kaname's voice cut through my thoughts, "Relax, it is just the Day Class girls being very excited about today." I whipped around to see him walk in, an apple in hand. He tossed it to me, then walked to the window to inch open the curtain. "See?"

I put the gun away and glanced outside. The girls were indeed going crazy. Yuki was having a whole lot more hard time controlling them than usual. "Wha-?"

"Valentine's Day." Kaname supplied helpfully.

 _Oh... Yes, of course._ How could I ever forget?

Kaien never failed to bug me about giving him chocolates, he was his most annoying self this time of the year. Once, back when I first joined the Ichijo house, I forgot about Valentine's Day completely. I didn't prepare anything, much less gave him anything. When I went to visit him and Yuki another day, he was so dejected he was almost dying. He still reminded me of my "betrayal" every 14th of February, so I made him extra special chocolate every year. I had skipped some classes yesterday night to make chocolates with Yuki. The girl sucked at making them even under close supervision.

And that wasn't even the end of my troubles on Valentine's Day. More like Pain-In-The-Ass Day if you asked me. Tons of girls swarming around the Night Class, tons of opportunities for enemies to attack. I packed extra gear that afternoon, double the number of bullets plus a retractable rod, a bit like Yuki's Artemis.

On top of that, Maria would most likely also send her dangerous yearly regards to Takuma this time as well. _Ahhh, yes, a pain of a night, indeed._

As we walked out of the room, I was surprised to see that the prefects were actually being able to contain the excitement. They had the girls lined up according to the person they wanted to offer gifts to. A great attempt! I flashed Yuki a thumbs up when she glanced my way and she smiled sheepishly. She was once again being flanked by the two Kiryuu brothers. Strangely enough, I hadn't had the time to meet them at all, so I didn't know how things were going on their side. I walked beside Kaname and Takuma, whose rows were next to each other. As my hands steadily filled with boxes of all kinds, I took the time to observe the three prefects. Zero seemed to have as bad a temper as he did in the original manga. He and Yuki still got along marvellously, playfully punching and insulting each other while Ichiru tried to calm things between them. Our eyes met in the midst of my observation, and I held them, curious. I had never really paid attention to him before. Since he was beside Yuki now, I had to at least know what type of person he was.

Even as a polite smile formed on his face, Ichiru's eyes turned ice cold. _Huh, hostility then._ Why though? Did he not know that I was Yuki's sister? I raised an eyebrow, but he broke eye contact, herding the other two bickering prefects away to supervise another row of booths.

 _... oh well, maybe it's just angsty teenager behavior._

When I looked back in front of me, all I saw was red and pink. The boys had quite artfully stacked an intricate pyramid of chocolate boxes in my arms. Kaname refused to help me since he was busy babying the chocolate that Yuki had just given to him. Takuma already had his arms full with more chocolate. So I put one foot in front of the other and relied solely on Kaname's towering back in front of me for directions.

Once in the classroom, I took my time to give my own chocolates that I had prepared to Hanabusa, Kaname and Takuma and pocky to Shiki and Rima (yes both, because they're my babies). At some point, Kaien came to 'inspect' if the classes were going well, so I went to 'report' to him that yes, everything was going well. Since he had worked so well, I, of course, had to 'reward' him with a 50 cm tall sculpted chocolate in the shape of a wall slapping BL scene between Kaname and Takuma. He and I both enjoyed the theatrics.

That was how the night went. I had to scare away two of Maria's messengers and steer two day class fangirls back towards their dorm. Seemed like the perfects were even more busy than usual on Valentine's Day. Oh! And of course, I had to check each and every chocolate that Kaname and Takuma had received for, well, for anything dangerous and/or inedible (I didn't get paid enough for this shit). I even gave out some free advice to the rest of the night class on how to check their chocolates. In the end, we found anaesthesia in two of Takuma's chocolates, tracking devices on another 4 boxes, hair in one of Hanabusa's bonbons and a type of aphrodisiac in one of Kaname's chocolates. Yeah, I knew how to recognize aphrodisiac from smell... The Ichijo house was very meticulous about its training.

Needless to say, Kaname didn't eat any of his loot (but I saw him putting the love-potioned one in his pocket, for what reason, I preferred not to ask). Hanabusa was the complete opposite, he'd probably get a stomach ache the next day.

I was dead on my bed at 4:15 am, as soon as we got to the dorms after class. This day was way too tiring. I was going to ask for a pay raise the next time one of Ichio's guards came for a report. Damn, my back hurt like a bitch. All I wanted was silence and sleep, which I thankfully got... for a whole of 15 minutes before I heard noise coming from Takuma's room.

 _What is it NOW?!_

I banged Takuma's door open, "Taku-chan! Want me to tell your Jii-chan that you failed your Maths test last week coz you were too tired from reading manga the day before?!"

Takuma, whose back was turned towards me, glanced at me sheepishly, "Oh, Katsumi-chan, no, this is..."

 _Hm?_ Was he hiding something? I stepped in to look closer and there it was, a knife sticking out of his hand, one of the kidnappers sent by Maria holding the handle.

The man, whose face was half hidden by a mask, jumped back upon seeing me and bolted out the window.

"Don't worry, Katsumi-chan. I had things under control." Takuma said, smiling his fake smile.

 _Tch._ "You idiot, that knife was probably poisoned. Go in Kaname's room. I'll take care of this."

"But-" he grabbed my shoulder as I climbed the window, "you can't-"

"Takuma." I smirked, "This is my territory. I'd be fine even if I were blind and deaf." Then I followed the kidnapper down the window.

.

.

.

... Fine my ass. This was going to be a close call.

I tracked him through the forest surrounding the back of the Moon Dorms. He was faster that I was, but I did know my way around these trees. I circled around him for an ambush and kicked him straight into a clearing.

Was panting by the time I slowed to a walk around the edge of the clearing. "So," I said as I removed my guns from their strap on my leg, "How would you like to die?"

I watched as he shook his head and rose slowly off the ground. Must have hit his head on that rock. Easier for me. I got closer a bit, but stopped when I heard him mutter something. "Speak louder bro, it's not like that ugly mask is in the way." Seriously, that mask was like those old glittering ball masks, a repelling testimony of Maria's poor taste.

"The Unnamed Angel." he repeated, still softly. I tensed minutely as he moved his hand behind his head, probably to unfasten the mask. "Is that what they call you?"

 _... Ok, this is weird. The reaction to that name isn't usually this calm,_ I thought as I worked on shifting my posture to appear more menacing. "...Depends. Why do you ask?"

"I heard things about that person. Like how no one ever escaped alive to boast about a confrontation with them. The monster of the Ichijo house. So cruel and terrifying, they stirred fear even among their own allies." He threw the mask away. "It does not seem like you're the real deal." The pretty boy with black hair said, locking beautiful green eyes with my own.

I bit my lip, sighed and crouched down with my head in my hands, guns dangling awkwardly.

Inside, I despaired.

 _Haaaaaaaaa, why did it always have to be such pretty boys?!_ They were my worst weakness and they were always the hardest to get rid of. Who said Maria had poor taste again?

"Whyyyyyyy?" I drawled out before lifting my eyes to look at the guy again. He was dressed sexily too, standing there in skinny black pants and with a loose black shirt made of silky material. He was looking a bit unsure now, probably flustered with my less-than-stellar behaviour. He'd make up his mind to kill me quickly though, so I should probably get my bearings again.

I stood back up and smiled, "Listen. You are cute. How about we make a deal? You stop trying to hurt/kidnap Takuma and I let you go. What do you think?"

Great deal, wouldn't you say? But no, this pretty boy did not want to deal with me. Instead he wanted to rush at me in the middle of my speech.

 _That's too bad then..._

I dodged his knife swipes, sheathing my guns to free my hands. Then I waited for the right moment to grab his wrists. I hooked my leg around his and he fell on his back. He wasn't dumb though, and he wasn't weak.

We struggled on the ground and I succeeded in making him release one of the knives. But he got more aggressive after that and threw me off him. My gun was back out as soon as I hit the ground. I lifted it towards him then. _Sadly, this is goodbye pretty bo-_

My train of thoughts was cut by a violent kick to my face. I tumbled across the clearing, stopping only when the side of my body hit the painful bark of a tree.

I slowly lifted myself off the ground, spitting out the blood that had gathered in my mouth. _Shit... that had hurt!_ My head was still pounding. This was my first time getting a kick to the face. Never happened before, even those who I'd fought to death never did that. Was probably the chivalry of this world, since I was a girl and all, but yeah. This was a first and it pissed me off to no end.

"YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS, PRETTY BOY!" I unsheathed both of my guns, letting out the worst of my killing intent. You didn't need vampire energy to have a creepy aura.

I whirled in his general direction to launch my attack, but then stopped immediately.

The pretty boy wasn't alone.

 _Fuck._

An older guy was with him, a bigger one, with much more cruel features.

I felt something trickle down the side of my head and lifted my hand up to swipe at it. Blood.

I... I was in trouble.

I hadn't sensed him coming, hadn't been able to avoid getting hit. My head was pounding even more now, but if I let my guard down, I was dead.

They seemed to be discussing something, which I couldn't hear. From pretty boy pointing at me and shaking his head, I could guess that he was telling burly guy that I could, in no way, be the infamous Unnamed Angel.

Which, well, he was right about. _Look at you, Katsumi. Wanna be a bodyguard for vampires? Wanna protect purebloods? You can't even keep yourself from getting hurt. You are no longer the monster of the Ichijo House, no longer the pride of the Vampire without Fangs. You're just a disillusioned little girl who wants to play a game with evil gods. You're weak._

I grit my teeth as burly guy chuckled, facing me once again.

Even if I was weak, I could never let it show. That was how I'd survived all this time. I could do it again. Could definitely do it again.

I gripped my guns tighter and readied my stance.

Burly guy walked towards me, fearless of my bullets. Pretty boy didn't even look my way.

But that was ok. No matter what they threw at me, I'd survive it. No way was I dying now.

I smiled the most wicked smile I could muster, relaxing my stance in a way that only those with power could get away with. Burly guy even paused in his stride.

 _Nothing else matters anymore._

 _I'm living through this._

* * *

 **AN: Yeah… not really a great time to put a cliff hanger, but that's how things are so, please tell me about your worries, complaints and hopes in the reviews! Though I may not be able to answer them all with how busy I am, I will absolutely read all of them! Here's proof: even if I did not answer to your reviews, I did read and feel motivated to finish this chapter by the people who sent me "Please update!" reviews, so yeah :P**

 **Also, I really, really acknowledge you, readers who favourite and follow Phantom Flames and myself! You are great! TvT**

 **Until next time!**

 **PS: Please don't send me "please update" reviews unless I don't update for like…. Several months…. :3**


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